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Updated: Mar 5, 2026

Histochemical Staining of Arabidopsis thaliana Secondary Cell Wall Elements
Published on: May 13, 2014
Structural colour from helicoidal cell-wall architecture in fruits of Margaritaria nobilis
Silvia Vignolini1, Thomas Gregory2, Mathias Kolle3
1Chemistry Department, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK sv319@cam.ac.uk.
Abstract:
The bright and intense blue-green coloration of the fruits of Margaritaria nobilis (Phyllanthaceae) was investigated using polarization-resolved spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Optical measurements of freshly collected fruits revealed a strong circularly polarized reflection of the fruit that originates from a cellulose helicoidal cell wall structure in the pericarp cells. Hyperspectral microscopy was used to capture the iridescent effect at the single-cell level.
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