Rigid and flexible pectic polymers in onion cell walls

Schumacher and Halbsguth first demonstrated ectodesmata as pores or channels in the epidermal cell walls in haustoria of Cuscuta odorata L. by light microscopy in tissues fixed in a sublimate fixative (30% ethyl alcohol, 30 ml:glacial acetic acid, 10 ml: 65% nitric acid, 1 ml: 40% formaldehyde, 5 ml: oxalic acid, 2 g: mecuric chloride to saturation 2-3 g). Other workers have published electron micrographs of structures transversing the outer epidermal cell in thin sections of plant leaves that have been interpreted as ectodesmata. Such structures are evident following treatment with Hg++ or Ag+ salts and are only rarely observed by electron microscopy. If ectodesmata exist without such treatment, and are not artefacts, they would afford natural pathways of entry for applied foliar solutions and plant viruses.

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An ultrastructural study of vegetative incompatibility in plants

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100083047 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 36 (2) ◽

pp. 436-437

Author(s):

Randy Moore

Keyword(s):

Ultrastructural Study ◽

Cell Walls ◽

Growth And Development ◽

Solanum Pennellii ◽

Initial Product ◽

Basic Aspect ◽

Tissue Interactions ◽

Graft Interface ◽

Antigen Antibody ◽

Standard Fixation

Cell and tissue interactions are a basic aspect of eukaryotic growth and development. While cell-to-cell interactions involving recognition and incompatibility have been studied extensively in animals, there is no known antigen-antibody reaction in plants and the recognition mechanisms operating in plant grafts have been virtually neglected.An ultrastructural study of the Sedum telephoides/Solanum pennellii graft was undertaken to define possible mechanisms of plant graft incompatibility. Grafts were surgically dissected from greenhouse grown plants at various times over 1-4 weeks and prepared for EM employing variations in the standard fixation and embedding procedure. Stock and scion adhere within 6 days after grafting. Following progressive cell senescence in both Sedum and Solanum, the graft interface appears as a band of 8-11 crushed cells after 2 weeks (Fig. 1, I). Trapped between the buckled cell walls are densely staining cytoplasmic remnants and residual starch grains, an initial product of wound reactions in plants.

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Comparison of Substructures Between Uniaxial and Biaxial Deformation in 1100-0 Aluminum

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100096989 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 39 ◽

pp. 52-53

Author(s):

D. L. Rohr ◽

S. S. Hecker

Keyword(s):

Plastic Strain ◽

Cell Walls ◽

Room Temperature ◽

Mechanical Response ◽

Biaxial Tension ◽

Initial Deformation ◽

Uniaxial Deformation ◽

Biaxial Deformation ◽

Stress States ◽

Comprehensive Study

As part of a comprehensive study of microstructural and mechanical response of metals to uniaxial and biaxial deformations, the development of substructure in 1100 A1 has been studied over a range of plastic strain for two stress states.Specimens of 1100 aluminum annealed at 350 C were tested in uniaxial (UT) and balanced biaxial tension (BBT) at room temperature to different strain levels. The biaxial specimens were produced by the in-plane punch stretching technique. Areas of known strain levels were prepared for TEM by lapping followed by jet electropolishing. All specimens were examined in a JEOL 200B run at 150 and 200 kV within 24 to 36 hours after testing.The development of the substructure with deformation is shown in Fig. 1 for both stress states. Initial deformation produces dislocation tangles, which form cell walls by 10% uniaxial deformation, and start to recover to form subgrains by 25%. The results of several hundred measurements of cell/subgrain sizes by a linear intercept technique are presented in Table I.

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Cryosectioning plant roots prepared by high-pressure freezing

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100127748 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 45 ◽

pp. 662-663

Author(s):

R.E. Crang ◽

M. Mueller ◽

K. Zierold

Keyword(s):

High Pressure ◽

Cell Walls ◽

Plant Tissues ◽

Ice Crystal ◽

High Pressure Freezing ◽

Vitreous State ◽

Radial Depth ◽

Irregular Topography ◽

Considerable Depth ◽

Conventional Freezing

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.

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Characterization of machined polystyrene foam

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s042482010015383x ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 47 ◽

pp. 372-373

Author(s):

C. W. Price ◽

E. F. Lindsey ◽

R. M. Franks ◽

M. A. Lane

Keyword(s):

Surface Finish ◽

Cell Walls ◽

Surface Structures ◽

Efficient Technique ◽

Low Density ◽

Polystyrene Foam ◽

Planar Surfaces ◽

Machining Characteristics

Diamond-point turning is an efficient technique for machining low-density polystyrene foam, and the surface finish can be substantially improved by grinding. However, both diamond-point turning and grinding tend to tear and fracture cell walls and leave asperities formed by agglomerations of fragmented cell walls. Vibratoming is proving to be an excellent technique to form planar surfaces in polystyrene, and the machining characteristics of vibratoming and diamond-point turning are compared.Our work has demonstrated that proper evaluation of surface structures in low density polystyrene foam requires stereoscopic examinations; tilts of + and − 3 1/2 degrees were used for the stereo pairs. Coating does not seriously distort low-density polystyrene foam. Therefore, the specimens were gold-palladium coated and examined in a Hitachi S-800 FESEM at 5 kV.

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