As a group of plant-parasitic and free-living nematode taxonomists, we please need advice with this technical aspect, how do you mount a nematode of more than 20 cm?
Wow! A 20cm specimen? I take it this will not be sectioned! I often use a Petri dish as a specimen holder. A petri dish works well under stereo or geological microscopes. Also on inverted microscopes for higher magnification use. However, if you wants higher magnification and have no inverted microscope, (with care) a Petri dish can be mounted on a standard compound microscope stage. But care must be taker to not touch the specimen with the objectives. Also, it helps to remove the slide holding clips to allow a smooth surface for the Petri dish. This method should allow up to a 20x objective to be used safely. The Petri dish also allows the specimen to be wet, in water, so the specimen does not Dry out. I hope this helps!
Thank you, I will try it. Never thought about using a petri dish. With kind regards.
My advice: do not mount it. Keep it in a vial with ethanol.
When taxonomists examine a large nematode, they usually put it between a glass and a cover glass and "roll" them gently to examine the specimen from various orientations. This can be done in glycerol. After examination, they put it back into ethanol.
Although I have never mounted anything that long myself, I am just imagining how this can be done. I have seen Mermitids on glass slides but they were not looking so great due to mounting issue, I think. I have mounted cysts cones and cysts in glycerine on glass slides without crushing or flattening the cones or the cysts. In this case, I made a rather thick layer of wax ring making a small 'well' in the centre which I filled with glycerine and mounted my specimen carefully. This thick wax gave me some depth in the mouthing medium and the cyst cone stayed perfectly upright without flattening.
I would try a specimen or two of a long and thicker body (if you have excess :P) with this technique. You could also use the larger glass slide (used for mass slide) and coil up your specimen in the glycerine to reduce space if possible and see if it can be successfully mounted. If your specimens are to precious for this trial, perhaps store it in a tube. Good luck!
Thank you, for the advice, we have decided to use tempory mounts for studying the specimens and storying the specimens in eppendorf tubes.
Kind regards
mariette
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