Protocol

Imaging of Fresh Arabidopsis Tissues in the Scanning Electron Microscope

This protocol was adapted from "How to Analyze a Mutant Phenotypically," Chapter 4, in Arabidopsis by Detlef Weigel and Jane Glazebrook. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA, 2002.

INTRODUCTION

In recent years, the increased sensitivity of electron detectors and the availability of low-vacuum or variable-pressure systems have allowed imaging of fresh tissue samples without the need for fixation, drying, and coating. This obviously saves a lot of time, although the image quality may not be as good as that obtained from fixed samples. However, for most applications that tend to be at a relatively low magnification, the quality can be as good as that obtained from fixed samples.