Does anybody know of, or have a method suitable for sectioning very hard organic plant parts such as nut shells (e.g., coconut, walnut) and kernels (e.g.,olives) with a microtome? We want to soften the material without forfeiting details of cell structure and the intercellular bond. Any experience / advice / recommendations for dealing with such sclerotic tissues would be very welcome.
The group of Notburga Gierlinger is doing research on nut shells and has a lot of experience in sample preparation techniques, maybe they can help!
here one of their latest papers:
DOI: 10.1002/adma.202004519
Was wondering about an isomet saw, like the fish otolith people use.
Since you are looking for cell structure, you might need to thin section the seed/shell, then embed with some kind of resin, and polish to get the sample thin enough to get at the level of detail you need.
Sounds like preparation of petrified (fossil) wood sections. We will try. Thanks again for the good idea.
I suggest maceration also with acid acetic and peroxide hydrogen 1:1
We are doing similar work on woody conifer seed cones. We embed them in blocks of bioplastic resin and the section them as you would to produce petrographic thin sections. We're working on a paper comparing the results of this method with those of CT-scanning of the cones.
John Benedict has also published on the subject, here:
https://bioone.org/journals/applications-in-plant-sciences/volume-3/issue-10/apps.1500075/A-New-Technique-to-Prepare-Hard-Fruits-and-Seeds-for/10.3732/apps.1500075.full
Dear Alexandru,
thanks for your answer and the recommended literature!
We already started to embed the seeds and shells in epoxy resin vor ultra-cut slides and started some sub-µm CT with our colleagues from Fraunhofer Institute. Additionally we started a maceration procedure for measurements of cell length etc. and further investigations.
Best wishes
Volker
Very cool, Volker! I'd love to see the results of this work when you publish them.
Mihai Tomescu
Dear Mihai,
highly appreciate your interest!
I am planning to submit the results to the IAWA Journal by end of April.
Best Wishes
I agree with Mihai Tomescu. I look forward to seeing your results Volker Haag
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