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An evaluation of the form of vacuoles in thin sections and freeze-etch replicas of root tips

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Summary

A comparison is made of the form of vacuoles in thin sections and freeze-etch replicas of root tips. In sections, vacuoles exhibit a diversity of shapes, the greatest irregularity being found with fixation in aqueous KMnO4. Vacuoles of frozen-etched roots are mainly spherical. They are not found with narrow extensions or angular irregularities but retain a turgid appearance with a smoothly contoured tonoplast, except in some prefixed and poorly frozen fresh cells. As freeze-etching avoids artifacts of sectioning techniques it is considered that results obtained from freeze-etching give a more accurate picture of the shape of vacuoles. The irregular shapes of vacuoles in thin sections are apparently caused by shrinkage during fixation. When shrinkage is severe, portions of the tonoplast become apposed and superficially resemble profiles of endoplasmic reticulum.

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  1. B. A. Fineran

    Present address: Department of Botany, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

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    Fineran, B.A. An evaluation of the form of vacuoles in thin sections and freeze-etch replicas of root tips. Protoplasma 70, 457–478 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01275770

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