Abstract
Maize cells are surrounded by cell walls that can be easily visualized using a simple protocol outlined below. A glue impression is an imprint of maize epidermal cells on a glass slide made using a cyanoacrylate-based glue (super glue) that produces a permanent record of the leaf (Wilson et al., 1981). Although we demonstrate use of this protocol with Zea mays (maize) leaves, the protocol can be easily adapted to other sturdy leaves. Briefly, the leaf blade is mounted in liquid cyanoacrylate glue on a glass slide and held still until the glue dries. The leaf is removed and the resulting glue impression is observed using a standard light microscope. The glue impression can be used to analyze epidermal cells for defects in patterning or division. Types of cell defects that are easily detected include cytokinesis defects, symmetric and asymmetric division plane orientation defects (Gallagher and Smith, 1999; Sylvester and Smith, 2009), lobing or crenulation defects (Frank and Smith, 2002) and aberrantly expanded cells (Reynolds et al., 1998; Hunter et al., 2012). Importantly, glue impressions are a simple, fast method to make a permanent record of maize leaves that require very little sample processing or special equipment.
Keywords: Maize, Cytokinesis, Cell wall, Lobing, Cell expansion, Glue impression
Materials and Reagents
Equipment
Software
Procedure
Data analysis
Notes
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Professor Michelle Facette (University of Massachusetts, Amherst), and Rasmussen Lab members for protocol edits. Special thanks to Professors Amanda J. Wright (University of North Texas), Anne W. Sylvester (University of Wyoming), and Laurie G. Smith (University of California, San Diego), for instructions and demonstrations of this technique. Thanks to Dr. David Carter (Microscopy Core Facility, University of California, Riverside) for use of his stage micrometer for calibration. NSF-MCB #1716972 is gratefully acknowledged for funding. Competing interests: All authors declare no competing interests.
References
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