4700 scanning electron microscope

Floral buds at different developmental stages were fixed in acetic acid/formaldehyde (1:3), dehydrated in a graded ethanol series, embedded in Technovit 7,100 resin, and sectioned (3-µm thick sections) using a Leica RM2265 microtome. Sections were stained with a 0.01% (w/v) toluidine blue solution before being imaged with a Zeiss Axio Imager.Z2.
For scanning electron microscopy analysis, dehiscent anthers were mounted on stubs over carbon double-sided tape and coated with gold using a sputter coater. Samples were observed in a Hitachi 4,700 scanning electron microscope.
For transmission electron microscopy analysis, floral buds were fixed with 2.5% glutaraldehyde on ice, rinsed in 0.1-M sodium phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, pH 7.0), postfixed in 2% osmium tetroxide (dissolved in 0.1-M PBS), and embedded in EPON 812 resin. Ultra-thin sections (50 nm) were double stained with 0.5% uranyl acetate and lead citrate (2.6% lead nitrate and 3.5% sodium citrate, pH 12) and observed with a transmission electron microscope (Tecnai G2 Spirit Bio-TWIN).

Plant images were captured using an Olympus SZX7 Stereomicroscope. Scanning electron microscopy was performed as described previously (Bowman et al., 1989 (link)) using a Hitachi 4700 scanning electron microscope. For histology analyses, 9-day-old seedlings were fixed, embedded and sectioned as described previously (Carles et al., 2004 (link)), and stained in Toluidine Blue solution.