Summary
Specimen preparation protocols that allow field emission scanning electron microscope imaging of microtubules in plant cells were developed, involving simultaneous permeabilization with saponin and stabilization of microtubules with taxol. All categories of microtubule array were observed in onion root tip cells and in tobacco BY-2 cells grown in suspension culture and synchronized to provide high frequencies of mitotic stages. Cortical arrays consist of overlapping microtubules with free ends; individual microtubules directly overlie individual microfibrils in the cell wall. Preprophase bands and spindle microtubule bundles were also imaged. Phragmoplasts revealed early stages of wall deposition in the included cell plates and features interpreted as relating to high rates of microtubule turnover at the growing margins. It was possible to combine high resolution three-dimensional imaging with immunogold labelling of microtubules. Individual gold particles were readily distinguished decorating microtubules in the preparations; the method should be vaulable for studying many features of plant cell microtubules and their associated macromolecules.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- FESEM:
-
field emission gun scanning electron microscope
- MTSB:
-
microtubule stabilising buffer
References
Albrecht RM, Prudent J, Simmons SR, Pawley J, Choate JJ (1989) Observations of colloidal gold labelled platelet microtubules: high voltage electron microscopy and low voltage high resolution scanning electron microscopy. Scanning Microsc 3: 273–278
Abe H, Funada R, Imaizumi H, Ohtani J, Fukazawa K (1995) Dynamic changes in the arrangement of cortical microtubules in conifer tracheids during differentiation. Planta 197: 418–421
Asada T, Sonobe S, Shibaoka H (1991) Microtubule translocation in the cytokinetic apparatus of cultured tobacco cells. Nature 350: 238–241
Barnes SH (1992) Ultrastructural imaging of freeze-fractured plant cells in the scanning electron microscope. Microsc Res Tech 22: 160–169
—, Blackmore S (1984) Scanning electron microscopy of chloroplast ultrastructure. Micron Microsc Acta 15: 187–194
Blackmore S, Barnes SH, Claugher D (1984) Scanning electron microscopy of cytoskeletal components inAucuba japonica leaves. J Ultrastruct Res 86: 215–219
Carpita NC, Gibeaut DM (1993) Structural models of primary cell walls in flowering plants: consistency of molecular structure with the physical properties of the walls during growth. Plant J 3: 1–30
Chen Y, Centonze VE, Verkhovsky A, Borisy GG (1995) Imaging of cytoskeletal elements by low-temperature high-resolution scanning electron microscopy. J Microsc 179: 67–76
Cleary AL, Mathesius U (1996) Rearrangements of F-actin during stomatogenesis visualised by confocal microscopy in fixed and permeabilizedTradescantia leaf epidermis. Bot Acta 109: 15–24
Crewe AV, Eggenberger DN, Wall J, Welter LM (1968) Electron gun using a field emission source. Rev Sci Instr 39: 576–584
Cyr RJ (1994) Microtubules in plant morphogenesis. Annu Rev Cell Biol 10: 153–180
Fairbairn DJ, Goodbody KC, Lloyd CW (1994) Simultaneous labelling of microtubules and fibrillar bundles in tobacco BY-2 cells by the anti-intermediate filament antibody, ME 101. Protoplasma 182: 160–190
Fukudome H, Tanaka K (1992) A method for simultaneously revealing both the cytoskeleton and membranous cell organelles for scanning electron microscopy and its application to rat tissues. J Electron Microsc 41: 375–363
Giddings TH, Staehelin LA (1991) Microtubule-mediated control of microfibril deposition: a re-examination of the hypothesis. In: Lloyd CW (ed) The cytoskeletal basis of plant growth and form. Academic Press, London, pp 85–99
Goldberg MW, Allen TD (1995) Structural and functional organization of the nuclear envelope. Curr Opin Cell Biol 7: 301–309
Gunning BES (1982) The cytokinetic apparatus. In: Lloyd CW (ed) The cytoskeleton in plant growth and development. Academic Press, London, pp 229–294
Hardham AR, Gunning BES (1978) Structure of cortical microtubule arrays in plant cells. J Cell Biol 89: 685–690
Jensen CG, Smaill BH (1987) Analysis of the spatial organization of microtubule-associated proteins. J Cell Biol 103: 559–569
Katsuta J, Hashiguchi Y, Shibaoka H (1990) The role of the cytoskeleton in positioning the nucleus in premitotic tobacco BY-2 cells. J Cell Sci 95: 413–422
Koga H, Tsukiboshi T, Uematsu T (1992) Application of an osmiummaceration technique to observe plant-microbe interfaces of Italian ryegrass and crown rust fungi by scanning electron microscopy. Can J Bot 70: 438–442
— — — (1993) The structure of the cell organelles of plant leaves revealed by high resolution scanning electron microscopy. Bull Natl Grassland Res Inst, Nishinasuno, Tochigi, Japan, no 47: 37–42
Lea P, Gross DK (1992) Effective diameters of protein A-gold and goat anti-rabbit-gold conjugates visualized by field emission scanning electron microscopy. J Histochem Cytochem 40: 751–758
Lloyd CW (ed) (1991) The cytoskeletal basis of plant growth and form. Academic Press, London
McCann MC, Wells B, Roberts K (1990) Direct visualization of cross-links in the primary plant cell wall. J Cell Sci 96: 323–334
McLean B, Juniper BE (1993) The arrangement of actin bundles and chloroplasts in the nodal regions of characean internodal cells. Eur J Phycol 28: 33–37
Mandelkow E-M, Mandelkow E, Milligan RA (1991) Microtubule dynamics and microtubule caps: a time-resolved cryo-microscopy study. J Cell Biol 114: 977–991
Nagata T, Nemoto Y, Hasezawa S (1992) Tobacco BY-2 cell lines as the “HeLa” cell in the cell biology of higher plants. Int Rev Cytol 132: 1–30
Newcomb EH (1969) Plant microtubules. Annu Rev Plant Physiol 20: 253–288
Pawley JB, Erlandsen SL (1989) The case for low voltage high resolution scanning electron microscopy of biological samples. Scanning Microsc Suppl 3: 163–178
Prodhan AKMA, Ohtani J, Funada R, Abe H, Fukazawa K (1995a) Ultrastructural investigation of tension wood fibre inFraxinus mandshurica Rupr. var.japonica Maxim. Ann Bot 75: 311–317
—, Funada R, Ohtani J, Abe H, Fukazawa K (1995b) Orientation of microfibrils and microtubules in developing tension-wood fibres of Japanese ash (Fraxinus mandshurica var.japonica). Planta 196: 577–585
Reichelt S, Ensikat H-J, Barthlott W, Volkmann D (1995) Visualization of immunogold-labelled cytoskeletal proteins by scanning electron microscopy. Eur J Cell Biol 67: 89–93
Samuels AL, Giddings TH, Staehelin LA (1995) Cytokinesis in tobacco BY-2 and root tip cells: a new model of cell plate formation in higher plant cells. J Cell Biol 130: 1345–1357
Sasaki K (1988) A simple method to observe intracellular organelles with the scanning electron microscope. J Electron Microsc 37: 171–173
Shibaoka H (1994) Plant hormone-induced changes in the orientation of cortical microtubules: alterations in the cross-linking between microtubules and the plasma membrane. Annu Rev Plant Physiol Plant Mol Biol 45: 527–544
Simmons SR, Albrecht RM (1989) Probe size and bound label conformation in colloidal gold-ligand labels and gold-immunolabels. Scanning Microsc Suppl 3: 27–34
Takahashi M (1995) Development of structure-less pollen wall inCeratophyllum demersum L. (Ceratophyllaceae). J Plant Res 108: 205–208
Tanaka K, Mitsushima A (1984) A preparation method for observing intracellular structures by scanning electron microscopy. J Microsc 133: 213–222
Toyoshima S, Saito T, Yamaguchi J (1986) Immuno-scanning electron microscopy of macrophage cytoskeleton by using colloidal gold and backscattered electron imaging mode. J Electron Microsc 35: 247–258
Vesk PA, Rayns DG, Vesk M (1994) Imaging of plant microtubules with high resolution scanning electron microscopy. Protoplasma 182: 71–74
Walther P, Wehrli E, Hermann R, Müller M (1995) Double-layer coating for high-resolution low-temperature scanning electron
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Dedicated to Professor Eldon H. Newcomb in recognition of his contributions to cell biology
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vesk, P.A., Vesk, M. & Gunning, B.E.S. Field emission scanning electron microscopy of microtubule arrays in higher plant cells. Protoplasma 195, 168–182 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01279195
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01279195