Longitudinal section of a root tip of Maize (Zea mays)
This image shows a longitudinal section of a root tip of Maize (Zea mays). To the left of the image, the large, loosely packed cells of the root cap can be seen. These cells protect the actively dividing meristematic tissue as the root grows down through the soil. This meristematic tissue is located just to the right of the root cap, where the cells are small and undifferentiated. If you follow the lines of cells towards the right, you can see that they increase in length in the zone of elongation. To the right of this zone, the cells become further differentiated, eventually assuming the mature structure related to their function.
This image is taken from a slide in the Botanical slide collection, Department of Plant Sciences, Cambridge. The specimen had been stained with Safranin O and Fast Green and was captured using a confocal microscope. These stains are often used together as general stains on plant material prepared for light microscopy and between them they stain many subcellular structures. The resulting colours are due to a combination of the stains and fluorescent colours in the cells.
The length of the section is approximately 300 µm.
Image by J. Haseloff
Longitudinal section of a root tip of Maize (Zea mays)
This image shows a longitudinal section of a root tip of Maize (Zea mays). To the left of the image, the large, loosely packed cells of the root cap can be seen. These cells protect the actively dividing meristematic tissue as the root grows down through the soil. This meristematic tissue is located just to the right of the root cap, where the cells are small and undifferentiated. If you follow the lines of cells towards the right, you can see that they increase in length in the zone of elongation. To the right of this zone, the cells become further differentiated, eventually assuming the mature structure related to their function.
This image is taken from a slide in the Botanical slide collection, Department of Plant Sciences, Cambridge. The specimen had been stained with Safranin O and Fast Green and was captured using a confocal microscope. These stains are often used together as general stains on plant material prepared for light microscopy and between them they stain many subcellular structures. The resulting colours are due to a combination of the stains and fluorescent colours in the cells.
The length of the section is approximately 300 µm.
Image by J. Haseloff