ISHS Acta Horticulturae 298: Hortifroid, V International Symposium on Postharvest Physiology of Ornamental Plants; Importance of Cold in Ornamental Horticulture
THE USE OF CRYO-ELECTRON MICROSCOPY AND CRYO-ULTRAMILLING TO INVESTIGATE THE OCCLUSION IN THE XYLEM OF CUT ROSE FLOWERS |
| Authors: | Wouter G. van Doorn, A. Clerkx, A. Boekestein |
| Abstract:
Cryo-SEM of stems of cut flowering roses held in water for 2 days showed the ubiquitous presence of an amorphous substance which was probably bacterial slime. Our previous research using isolated bacterial colonies showed that bacterial slime dissolved during the dehydration series in conventional tissue preparation for SEM. A similar result has been found in rose stems. Cryo-ultramilling allowed observations on the mode of action of bacteria in vascular blockage. It has been suggested that bacteria might partially result in blockage by xylem cell wall degradation, with the resulting macro-molecules blocking the pores in the pit-membranes. No evidence was found, however, for this hypothesis as all cell walls, also in vessels that contained numerous bacteria, had a smooth unaffected appearance. | |
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