Electron microscopy of nocardial cell division

Author(s):  
Janet Hearn Woodward

Nocardia polychromogenes is an aerobic, gram (+), non-motile, partially acid-fast actinomycete with primary mycelia that fragment into bacillary and coccoid elements.For scanning electron microscopy, N. polychromogenes culture strain Waksman 3409-A was grown on Potato Dextrose Agar at 25 C for 12-72 h. Five mm2 sections of the colonies, including portions of the interior and perimeter were fixed by exposure to osmium fumes for 16-24 h and air dried for 2 h. Specimens, mounted on stubs and sputter coated with gold, were viewed in a Cambridge Stereoscan Mark II scanning electron microscope. For transmission electron microscopy, the organism was grown on Potato Dextrose Agar at 25 C for 12-32 h. Whole colonies, 1-2 mm in diameter, were fixed by exposure to osmium fumes for 24 h. After suspension in noble agar, cells taken from the periphery of the fixed colonies were stained with 0. 5% uranyl acetate made in acetate-veranol buffer.

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (11) ◽  
pp. 2223-2232 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Read ◽  
S.-Y. Hsieh ◽  
E. B. G. Jones ◽  
S. T. Moss ◽  
H. S. Chang

A collection of Paraliomyces lentiferus from Taiwan, Republic of China, is compared with that of the type description and examined at both scanning and transmission electron microscope levels as part of our review of the taxonomy of the marine Ascomycotina. Particular attention was devoted to the structure of the ascospore appendage. The ascospore wall comprises a mesosporium, an episporium, and a mucilaginous sheath (exosporium?) In addition, there is a single, gelatinous, lateral appendage adjacent to the central septum. The appendage comprises electron-opaque fibrils that in immature ascospores are connected to the ascospore wall via fine electron-opaque strands and larger electron-opaque aggregates of material. The origin of the appendage is discussed. Key words: ascospore, attachment, marine ascomycete, scanning electron microscopy, spore appendage, transmission electron microscopy.


1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresita Iturriaga ◽  
Herbert W. Israel

Conidiogenesis and conidial morphology in two Pseudospiropes species, anamorphs of two unnamed Strossmayeria species, were studied using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and for one of these, transmission electron microscopy. Conidiogenesis is clearly holoblastic. In these species there are approximately 10 cells per conidium, the apical and basal ones being darker than the others. A gel surrounds the conidium, and what probably is a gelatinous appendage is seen at its apex. The conidial wall is composed of at least eight layers, the exterior surface being distinctly poroid. There are columnar irregularities in the conidial walls. These morphological features have potential taxonomic importance.


Author(s):  
V. R. Mumaw ◽  
B. L. Munger

The use of the scanning electron microscope (SEM) has become a very useful tool complimenting studies done by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The presence of cilia in the renal epithelium have been noted by various investigators and described by Latta. The present study utilizing the SEM and a freeze fracture technique demonstrates the regularity of cilia as well as the surface topography of the renal epithelium in a fractured profile.


Author(s):  
A. Julio Martinez ◽  
E. Clifford Nelson ◽  
Doris G. Fultz ◽  
Ragnit Geeraets

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) can serve as a valuable supplement to transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in the study of pathogenic protozoa. Details of overall form and structure of surface and organelles which may have a role in pathogenicity may be revealed. TEM studies on Naegleria have contributed much to understanding the extraordinary virulence of this ameba, but some remaining questions may be resolved by SEM. This report describes a technique which has proven useful in preparing SEM specimens. Naegleria ameba trophozoites adhere strongly to the surface on which they are growing. In culture tubes, amebae will multiply on the wall. Naegleria tends to grow from the top of the fluid downward and may multiply until a solid monolayer develops. If a strip of plastic film is introduced, the growth on the strip can be observed by direct microscope viewing through the wall of the tube.


Author(s):  
Nakazo Watari ◽  
Yasuaki Hotta ◽  
Yoshio Mabuchi

It is very useful if we can observe the identical cell elements within the same sections by light microscopy (LM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and/or scanning electron microscopy (SEM) sequentially, because, the cell fine structure can not be indicated by LM, while the color is; on the other hand, the cell fine structure can be very easily observed by EM, although its color properties may not. However, there is one problem in that LM requires thick sections of over 1 μm, while EM needs very thin sections of under 100 nm. Recently, we have developed a new method to observe the same cell elements within the same plastic sections using both light and transmission (conventional or high-voltage) electron microscopes.In this paper, we have developed two new observation methods for the identical cell elements within the same sections, both plastic-embedded and paraffin-embedded, using light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and/or scanning electron microscopy (Fig. 1).


Author(s):  
J. C. Russ ◽  
E. McNatt

In order to study the retention of copper in cirrhotic liver, rats were made cirrhotic by carbon tetrachloride inhalation twice weekly for three months and fed 0.2% copper acetate ad libidum in drinking water for one month. The liver tissue was fixed in osmium, sectioned approximately 2000 Å thick, and stained with lead citrate. The section was examined in a scanning electron microscope (JEOLCO JSM-2) in the transmission electron mode.Figure 1 shows a typical area that includes a red blood cell in a sinusoid, a disse, and a portion of the cytoplasm of a hepatocyte which contains several mitochondria, peribiliary dense bodies, glycogen granules, and endoplasmic reticulum.


Author(s):  
Venita F. Allison ◽  
J. E. Ubelaker ◽  
J. H. Martin

It has been suggested that parasitism results in a reduction of sensory structures which concomitantly reflects a reduction in the complexity of the nervous system. The present study tests this hypothesis by examining the fine morphology and the distribution of sensory receptors for two species of aspidogastrid trematodes by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The species chosen are an ectoparasite, Cotylaspis insignis and an endoparasite, Aspidogaster conchicola.Aspidogaster conchicola and Cotylaspis insignis were obtained from natural infections of clams, Anodonta corpulenta and Proptera purpurata. The specimens were fixed for transmission electron microscopy in phosphate buffered paraformaldehyde followed by osmic acid in the same buffer, dehydrated in an ascending series of ethanol solutions and embedded in Epon 812.


Author(s):  
Thomas P. Turnbull ◽  
W. F. Bowers

Until recently the prime purposes of filters have been to produce clear filtrates or to collect particles from solution and then remove the filter medium and examine the particles by transmission electron microscopy. These filters have not had the best characteristics for scanning electron microscopy due to the size of the pores or the surface topography. Advances in polymer chemistry and membrane technology resulted in membranes whose characteristics make them versatile substrates for many scanning electron microscope applications. These polysulphone type membranes are anisotropic, consisting of a very thin (0.1 to 1.5 μm) dense skin of extremely fine, controlled pore texture upon a much thicker (50 to 250μm), spongy layer of the same polymer. Apparent pore diameters can be controlled in the range of 10 to 40 A. The high flow ultrafilters which we are describing have a surface porosity in the range of 15 to 25 angstrom units (0.0015-0.0025μm).


Author(s):  
John F. Mansfield

The current imaging trend in optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) or transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is to record all data digitally. Most manufacturers currently market digital acquisition systems with their microscope packages. The advantages of digital acquisition include: almost instant viewing of the data as a high-quaity positive image (a major benefit when compared to TEM images recorded onto film, where one must wait until after the microscope session to develop the images); the ability to readily quantify features in the images and measure intensities; and extremely compact storage (removable 5.25” storage devices which now can hold up to several gigabytes of data).The problem for many researchers, however, is that they have perfectly serviceable microscopes that they routinely use that have no digital imaging capabilities with little hope of purchasing a new instrument.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document