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Updated: Apr 22, 2026
Histochemical Staining of Arabidopsis thaliana Secondary Cell Wall Elements
Published on: May 13, 2014
A staining protocol for identifying secondary compounds in Myrtaceae
Hernan A Retamales1, Tanya Scharaschkin1
1School of Earth, Environmental, and Biological Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, Queensland 4001 Australia.
Premise Of The Study:
Here we propose a staining protocol using toluidine blue (TBO) and ruthenium red to reliably identify secondary compounds in the leaves of some species of Myrtaceae. •
Methods And Results:
Leaves of 10 species representing 10 different genera of Myrtaceae were processed and stained using five different combinations of ruthenium red and TBO. Optimal staining conditions were determined as 1 min of ruthenium red (0.05% aqueous) and 45 s of TBO (0.1% aqueous). Secondary compounds clearly identified under this treatment include mucilage in the mesophyll, polyphenols in the cuticle, lignin in fibers and xylem, tannins and carboxylated polysaccharides in the epidermis, and pectic substances in the primary cell walls. •
Conclusions:
Potential applications of this protocol include systematic, phytochemical, and ecological investigations in Myrtaceae. It might be applicable to other plant families rich in secondary compounds and could be used as a preliminary screening method for extraction of these elements.
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