Analyzing Protein Distribution in Plant Tissues Using “Whole-Mount” Immunolocalization

Author(s):  
Pilar Bustos-Sanmamed ◽  
Carole Laffont ◽  
Florian Frugier ◽  
Christine Lelandais-Brière ◽  
Martin Crespi
1994 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-115
Author(s):  
B. Yeh ◽  
K.K. Svoboda

The intracellular distribution of filamentous actin (F-actin), all actin isoforms and beta-actin mRNA were analyzed in whole-mount preparations of freshly isolated corneal epithelia. Filamentous actin distribution was analyzed with fluorescently tagged phalloidin. An antibody that recognizes an epitope on both globular (G-actin) and F-actin was used in an immunohistochemical analysis of actin protein distribution. Whole-mount epithelial tissues were examined with a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM). Biotinylated oligonucleotide probes specific for the beta-actin mRNA were used, and visualized with avidin-FITC. The intracellular localization of the beta-actin mRNA was similar to the F-actin protein distribution. In the most apical optical sections of embryonic cornea, actin staining delineated the cell borders and microvilli of the periderm cells. The actin is also detected as an organized network at the interface between the basal and periderm cells. At the level of the basal cell nucleus, F-actin is sparse, associating only with the lateral cell membranes. However, at the optical plane below the nuclei, the actin forms an elaborate actin cortical mat. Actin mRNA staining was visualized as discrete punctate areas. The beta-actin mRNA was positive at the optical plane just below the periderm cell apical membrane surface, similar to actin in microvilli. These cells also contained punctate staining near the cell membranes and in the periderm-basal cell junction area. At the level of the basal cell nucleus the actin mRNA was present in a punctate pattern along the cell membranes. Below the basal cell nuclei the actin mRNA staining increased at the level of the actin cortical mat. These experiments are the first demonstration that actin mRNA is polarized in embryonic corneal epithelia and co-localized with actin protein in an intact tissue.


Author(s):  
E. T. O'Toole ◽  
R. R. Hantgan ◽  
J. C. Lewis

Thrombocytes (TC), the avian equivalent of blood platelets, support hemostasis by aggregating at sites of injury. Studies in our lab suggested that fibrinogen (fib) is a requisite cofactor for TC aggregation but operates by an undefined mechanism. To study the interaction of fib with TC and to identify fib receptors on cells, fib was purified from pigeon plasma, conjugated to colloidal gold and used both to facilitate aggregation and as a receptor probe. Described is the application of computer assisted reconstruction and stereo whole mount microscopy to visualize the 3-D organization of fib receptors at sites of cell contact in TC aggregates and on adherent cells.Pigeon TC were obtained from citrated whole blood by differential centrifugation, washed with Ca++ free Hank's balanced salts containing 0.3% EDTA (pH 6.5) and resuspended in Ca++ free Hank's. Pigeon fib was isolated by precipitation with PEG-1000 and the purity assessed by SDS-PAGE. Fib was conjugated to 25nm colloidal gold by vortexing and the conjugates used as the ligand to identify fib receptors.


Author(s):  
John S. Gardner ◽  
W. M. Hess

Powdery mildews are characterized by the appearance of spots or patches of a white to grayish, powdery, mildewy growth on plant tissues, entire leaves or other organs. Ervsiphe cichoracearum, the powdery mildew of cucurbits is among the most serious parasites, and the most common. The conidia are formed similar to the process described for Ervsiphe graminis by Cole and Samson. Theconidial chains mature basipetally from a short, conidiophore mother-cell at the base of the fertile hypha which arises holoblastically from the conidiophore. During early development it probably elongates by polar-tip growth like a vegetative hypha. A septum forms just above the conidiophore apex. Additional septa develop in acropetal succession. However, the conidia of E. cichoracearum are more doliform than condia from E. graminis. The purpose of these investigations was to use scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to demonstrate the nature of hyphal growth and conidial formation of E. cichoracearum on field-grown squash leaves.


Author(s):  
Y. R. Chen ◽  
Y. F. Huang ◽  
W. S. Chen

Acid phosphatases are widely distributed in different tisssues of various plants. Studies on subcellular localization of acid phosphatases show they might be present in cell wall, plasma lemma, mitochondria, plastid, vacuole and nucleus. However, their localization in rice cell varies with developmental stages of cells and plant tissues. In present study, acid phosphatases occurring in root cap are examined.Sliced root tips of ten-day-old rice(Oryza sativa) seedlings were fixed in 0.1M cacodylate buffer containing 2.5% glutaraldehyde for 2h, washed overnight in same buffer solution, incubated in Gomori's solution at 37° C for 90min, post-fixed in OsO4, dehydrated in ethanol series and finally embeded in Spurr's resin. Sections were doubly stained with uranyl acetate and lead citrate, and observed under Hitachi H-600 at 75 KV.


Author(s):  
T. L. Hayes

Biomedical applications of the scanning electron microscope (SEM) have increased in number quite rapidly over the last several years. Studies have been made of cells, whole mount tissue, sectioned tissue, particles, human chromosomes, microorganisms, dental enamel and skeletal material. Many of the advantages of using this instrument for such investigations come from its ability to produce images that are high in information content. Information about the chemical make-up of the specimen, its electrical properties and its three dimensional architecture all may be represented in such images. Since the biological system is distinctive in its chemistry and often spatially scaled to the resolving power of the SEM, these images are particularly useful in biomedical research.In any form of microscopy there are two parameters that together determine the usefulness of the image. One parameter is the size of the volume being studied or resolving power of the instrument and the other is the amount of information about this volume that is displayed in the image. Both parameters are important in describing the performance of a microscope. The light microscope image, for example, is rich in information content (chemical, spatial, living specimen, etc.) but is very limited in resolving power.


Author(s):  
J. H. Hayden

In a previous study, Allen video-enhanced constrast/differential interference constrast (AVEC-DIC) microscopy was used in conjunction with immunofluorescence microscopy to demonstrate that organelles and vesicle move in either direction along linear elements composed of microtubules. However, this study was limited in that the number of microtubules making up a linear element could not be determined. To overcome this limitation, we have used AVEC-DIC microscopy in conjunction with whole mount electron microscopy.Keratocytes from Rana pipiens were grown on glass coverslips as described elsewhere. Gold London Finder grids were Formvar- and carbon coated, and sterilized by exposure to ultraviolet light. It is important to select a Formvar film that gives a grey reflection when it is floated on water. A silver film is too thick and will detract from the image in the light microscope.


Author(s):  
R.E. Crang ◽  
M. Mueller ◽  
K. Zierold

Obtaining frozen-hydrated sections of plant tissues for electron microscopy and microanalysis has been considered difficult, if not impossible, due primarily to the considerable depth of effective freezing in the tissues which would be required. The greatest depth of vitreous freezing is generally considered to be only 15-20 μm in animal specimens. Plant cells are often much larger in diameter and, if several cells are required to be intact, ice crystal damage can be expected to be so severe as to prevent successful cryoultramicrotomy. The very nature of cell walls, intercellular air spaces, irregular topography, and large vacuoles often make it impractical to use immersion, metal-mirror, or jet freezing techniques for botanical material.However, it has been proposed that high-pressure freezing (HPF) may offer an alternative to the more conventional freezing techniques, inasmuch as non-cryoprotected specimens may be frozen in a vitreous, or near-vitreous state, to a radial depth of at least 0.5 mm.


Author(s):  
Janet H. Woodward ◽  
D. E. Akin

Silicon (Si) is distributed throughout plant tissues, but its role in forages has not been clarified. Although Si has been suggested as an antiquality factor which limits the digestibility of structural carbohydrates, other research indicates that its presence in plants does not affect digestibility. We employed x-ray microanalysis to evaluate Si as an antiquality factor at specific sites of two cultivars of bermuda grass (Cynodon dactvlon (L.) Pers.). “Coastal” and “Tifton-78” were chosen for this study because previous work in our lab has shown that, although these two grasses are similar ultrastructurally, they differ in in vitro dry matter digestibility and in percent composition of Si.Two millimeter leaf sections of Tifton-7 8 (Tift-7 8) and Coastal (CBG) were incubated for 72 hr in 2.5% (w/v) cellulase in 0.05 M sodium acetate buffer, pH 5.0. For controls, sections were incubated in the sodium acetate buffer or were not treated.


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