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Histochemical Staining of Arabidopsis thaliana Secondary Cell Wall Elements
Published on: May 13, 2014
Quick Histochemical Staining Methods to Detect Cell Death in Xylem Elements of Plant Tissues
Sacha Escamez1, Benjamin Bollhöner1, Hannele Tuominen2
1Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden.
Abstract:
Histochemical assays of xylem cell death cannot take advantage of the conventional methods for detection of cell death, such as staining with propidium iodide or trypan/Evans blue or the TUNEL staining. This chapter presents two alternative histochemical methods that can be used to detect xylem cell death quickly and reliably using light microscopy. The first method is a viability stain that can be used to detect cell death of different types of xylem elements in basically any plant species. The second method reveals cell death in xylem vessel elements based on their functionality in transport of water and small water-soluble stains.
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