Coagulant and Non-Coagulant Fixation of Plant Cells

Abstract

The appearance of cells from the meristem of the root tip of Phaseolus vulgaris after fixation in a variety of coagulant and non-coagulant fixatives is described and illustrated by correlated light and electron microscopy. The action of these same fixatives and some of their components upon the living cells of the petiolar hairs of Heracleum mantegazzianum is then described. Glutaraldehyde emerged as an excellent fixative for general use from these studies and further tests show that it will stabilize Hecht's threads in plasmolysed onion epidermis against breakage during dehydration. However, the formation of rounded cytoplasmic vacuoles from a pre-existing set of canalicular vacuoles and transformations of the cell membrane and tonoplasts were noted during these studies and none of the fixatives tested prevent the formation of these artefacts.