Furthermore, infiltration with phosphotungstate allowed imaging of all plants parts at a high resolution of 3 µm, which approaches the maximum resolution of our equipment: 1.5 µm.

Phosphotungstate also displayed the best sample penetration. The highest contrast increase with cytoplasm-rich tissues was obtained with phosphotungstate, whereas osmium tetroxide and bismuth tatrate displayed the highest contrast increase with vacuolated tissues. The thick buds of Marcgravia were scanned to determine which contrasting agents best penetrate thick tissues. Contrast was quantified via a contrast index. Grayscale values for floral tissues and background were measured as a function of time. Flowers of Arabidopsis thaliana and Marcgravia caudata were immersed in a selection of contrasting agents used to treat samples for transmission electron microscopy. More efficient protocols to study plant material are therefore needed. Existing protocols to study soft tissues display poor performance, especially when compared to those used on animals. Computed tomography remains strongly underused in plant sciences despite its high potential in delivering detailed 3D phenotypical information because of the low X-ray absorption of most plant tissues.

David masson golden age farm