Figure 1.

Section quality and tissue integrity of plant material depend of the sample preparation. The micrographs show transverse A. thaliana stem sections obtained with an ultramicrotome (A), a microtome (B) and a vibratome (C) and stained with toluidine blue. The thickness of the sections is 0.5, 12, and 60 μm, respectively. The staining with toluidine blue highlights how the image definition depends on the thickness of the section and how tissue integrity depends on the method of sectioning and its corresponding mode of embedding. The arrows in micrograph A highlight regions where the tissue integrity has been affected by the procedure of resin embedding. Note that equivalent alterations can occur when sections are embedded in wax. cp, cortical parenchyma; pp, pith parenchyma. Scale bar: 200 μm.