scholarly journals Visualising Silicon in Plants: Histochemistry, Silica Sculptures and Elemental Imaging

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 1066 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gea Guerriero ◽  
Ian Stokes ◽  
Nathalie Valle ◽  
Jean-Francois Hausman ◽  
Christopher Exley
Keyword(s):  
Cell Walls ◽  
Mass Spectrometry Imaging ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Cannabis Sativa ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Plant Vigour ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Imaging Approach ◽  
General Improvement

Silicon is a non-essential element for plants and is available in biota as silicic acid. Its presence has been associated with a general improvement of plant vigour and response to exogenous stresses. Plants accumulate silicon in their tissues as amorphous silica and cell walls are preferential sites. While several papers have been published on the mitigatory effects that silicon has on plants under stress, there has been less research on imaging silicon in plant tissues. Imaging offers important complementary results to molecular data, since it provides spatial information. Herein, the focus is on histochemistry coupled to optical microscopy, fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy of microwave acid extracted plant silica, techniques based on particle-induced X-ray emission, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and mass spectrometry imaging (NanoSIMS). Sample preparation procedures will not be discussed in detail, as several reviews have already treated this subject extensively. We focus instead on the information that each technique provides by offering, for each imaging approach, examples from both silicifiers (giant horsetail and rice) and non-accumulators (Cannabis sativa L.).

scholarly journals Nanostructure-specific X-ray tomography reveals myelin levels, integrity and axon orientations in mouse and human nervous tissue

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marios Georgiadis ◽  
Aileen Schroeter ◽  
Zirui Gao ◽  
Manuel Guizar-Sicairos ◽  
Marianne Liebi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mouse Brain ◽  
Nervous Tissue ◽  
Signal Transmission ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Tensor Tomography ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
X Ray Scattering ◽  
Imaging Approach ◽  
Non Destructive ◽  
Mri Measurements

AbstractMyelin insulates neuronal axons and enables fast signal transmission, constituting a key component of brain development, aging and disease. Yet, myelin-specific imaging of macroscopic samples remains a challenge. Here, we exploit myelin’s nanostructural periodicity, and use small-angle X-ray scattering tensor tomography (SAXS-TT) to simultaneously quantify myelin levels, nanostructural integrity and axon orientations in nervous tissue. Proof-of-principle is demonstrated in whole mouse brain, mouse spinal cord and human white and gray matter samples. Outcomes are validated by 2D/3D histology and compared to MRI measurements sensitive to myelin and axon orientations. Specificity to nanostructure is exemplified by concomitantly imaging different myelin types with distinct periodicities. Finally, we illustrate the method’s sensitivity towards myelin-related diseases by quantifying myelin alterations in dysmyelinated mouse brain. This non-destructive, stain-free molecular imaging approach enables quantitative studies of myelination within and across samples during development, aging, disease and treatment, and is applicable to other ordered biomolecules or nanostructures.

scholarly journals Valorization of Byproducts of Hemp Multipurpose Crop: Short Non-Aligned Bast Fibers as a Source of Nanocellulose

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (16) ◽  
pp. 4723
Author(s):  
Sara Dalle Vacche ◽  
Vijayaletchumy Karunakaran ◽  
Alessia Patrucco ◽  
Marina Zoccola ◽  
Loreleï Douard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Thermogravimetric Analysis ◽  
Cannabis Sativa ◽  
Crystallinity Index ◽  
Residual Lignin ◽  
Chemical Pretreatment ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Bast Fibers ◽  
Seed Maturity

Nanocellulose was extracted from short bast fibers, from hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) plants harvested at seed maturity, non-retted, and mechanically decorticated in a defibering apparatus, giving non-aligned fibers. A chemical pretreatment with NaOH and HCl allowed the removal of most of the non-cellulosic components of the fibers. No bleaching was performed. The chemically pretreated fibers were then refined in a beater and treated with a cellulase enzyme, followed by mechanical defibrillation in an ultrafine friction grinder. The fibers were characterized by microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction after each step of the process to understand the evolution of their morphology and composition. The obtained nanocellulose suspension was composed of short nanofibrils with widths of 5–12 nm, stacks of nanofibrils with widths of 20–200 nm, and some larger fibers. The crystallinity index was found to increase from 74% for the raw fibers to 80% for the nanocellulose. The nanocellulose retained a yellowish color, indicating the presence of some residual lignin. The properties of the nanopaper prepared with the hemp nanocellulose were similar to those of nanopapers prepared with wood pulp-derived rod-like nanofibrils.

scholarly journals Overview of Popular Techniques of Raman Spectroscopy and Their Potential in the Study of Plant Tissues

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1537
Author(s):  
Aneta Saletnik ◽  
Bogdan Saletnik ◽  
Czesław Puchalski
Keyword(s):  
Raman Spectroscopy ◽  
Cell Walls ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Plant Tissues ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Identification Technique

Raman spectroscopy is one of the main analytical techniques used in optical metrology. It is a vibration, marker-free technique that provides insight into the structure and composition of tissues and cells at the molecular level. Raman spectroscopy is an outstanding material identification technique. It provides spatial information of vibrations from complex biological samples which renders it a very accurate tool for the analysis of highly complex plant tissues. Raman spectra can be used as a fingerprint tool for a very wide range of compounds. Raman spectroscopy enables all the polymers that build the cell walls of plants to be tracked simultaneously; it facilitates the analysis of both the molecular composition and the molecular structure of cell walls. Due to its high sensitivity to even minute structural changes, this method is used for comparative tests. The introduction of new and improved Raman techniques by scientists as well as the constant technological development of the apparatus has resulted in an increased importance of Raman spectroscopy in the discovery and defining of tissues and the processes taking place in them.

Non-cellulosic structural polysaccharides in algal cell walls I. Xylan in siphoneous green algae

1964 ◽  
Vol 160 (980) ◽  
pp. 293-313 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Cell Walls ◽  
Marine Algae ◽  
Transverse Section ◽  
Algal Cell ◽  
Repeat Distance ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Face View ◽  
Half Turn ◽  
Parallel Arrays

The cell walls of a number of marine algae, namely species of Bryopsis, Caulerpa, Udotea, Halimeda and Penicillus and of one freshwater alga, Dichotomosiphon , are examined using both chemical and physical techniques. It is shown that, with the possible exception of Bryopsis , cellulose is completely absent and that the walls contain instead β -l,3-linked xylan as the structural polysaccharide. Bryopsis contains, in addition, a glucan which is most abundant in the outer layers of the wall and which stains like cellulose. The xylan is microfibrillar but the microfibrils are more strongly adherent than they are in cellulose, and in some species appear in the electron microscope to be joined by short crossed rod-like bodies. The orientation of the microfibrils is found to vary, ranging from a net tendency to transverse orientation through complete randomness to almost perfect longitudinal alinement. The microfibrils are negatively birefringent, so that all walls seen in optical section, and all parallel arrays of microfibrils whether in face view or in section (except strictly transverse section) are negatively birefringent. With Bryopsis , the negative birefringence in face view is overcompensated by the positive birefringence of the incrusting glucan so that the true birefringence of the crystalline polysaccharide is observed only after the glucan is removed. The X-ray diagram of parallel arrays of microfibrils as found, for instance, in Penicillus dumetosus shows that the xylan chains are helically coiled, in harmony with the negative birefringence. It is deduced that the microfibrils consist of hexagonally packed, double-stranded helices. The diameter of the helices increases with increasing relative humidity, as water is taken into the lattice, from 13.7 Å in material dried over phosphorus pentoxide to a maximum of 1.54 Å at 65 % relative humidity when the xylan contains 30 % of its weight as water. The repeat distance along the helix axis ranges from 5.85 Å (dry) to 6.06 Å (wet), the length of a half turn of each helix containing three xylose residues. The incrusting substances in these walls often include a glucan which is said also to be 1,3-linked. The significance of the extensive differences between this xylan and cellulose are examined both as regards some of the physical properties of the respective cell walls and in relation to the taxonomic position of these plants.

Thin layer imaging approach by X-ray amplitude splitting interferometer based on compound refractive lens

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitrii Zverev ◽  
Maria Voevodina ◽  
Svetlana Lyatun ◽  
Irina Snigireva ◽  
Anatoly A. Snigirev
Keyword(s):  
Thin Layer ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Refractive Lens ◽  
Imaging Approach

scholarly journals Cartographic Presentation as the Central Theme for Geospatial Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
Rakesh Malhotra ◽  
Terry McNeill ◽  
Carrie Francis ◽  
Tim Mulrooney
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Conflicting Information ◽  
Spatial Understanding ◽  
Written Information ◽  
Text Information ◽  
The 1960S

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> North Carolina Central University is committed to student education and training in cartography and geospatial sciences. This paper demonstrates the importance of applying cartographic principles to train students to convert historical deed records into geospatial data. Students were required to take text information from the 1960s and input this information it into a spatial database. The historical information was recorded on typed deeds in COGO (direction-distance) and the historic coordinate system of 1927 in the 1960s. Students applied cartographic principles that were used to identify contextual and spatial variations and anomalies to flag areas and records that didn’t meet project specifications and to trouble shoot conflicting information.</p><p>This paper demonstrates the usefulness of using cartography as a tool to educate students in allied aspects of geospatial sciences such as creating and managing spatial data. For example, students used tools such as markers and color coding to identify areas of overlap and areas of mismatched records (Figure 1). The authors found that using cartography helped enhance the spatial understanding of the project for students.</p><p>Education is the foundation of projects at North Carolina Central University and cartography has demonstrated appeal at the university level. Various geospatial aspects such as datums and projections, overlays, gaps, overlaps, and converting written information to spatial (geometric) information lend themselves well to cartographic principles. Cartography is an essential element that supports learning and teaching of spatial information as demonstrated by this project. Students were in a better position to understand and detect spatial anomalies with help from cartography than they were without using cartography and relying solely of written information. This enhanced their understanding and use of spatial data.</p>

scholarly journals MALDI-TOF/TOF Tandem Mass Spectrometry Imaging Reveals Non-uniform Distribution of Disaccharide Isomers in Plant Tissues

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
lingpeng zhan ◽  
xi huang ◽  
jinjuan xue ◽  
huihui liu ◽  
caiqiao xiong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Tandem Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Mass Spectrometry Imaging ◽  
Biological Tissues ◽  
Plant Tissues ◽  
Tandem Mass ◽  
Imaging Analysis ◽  
Maldi Tof ◽  
Ms Imaging ◽  
Imaging Approach

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) has been increasingly utilized in investigating the locations of biomolecules within tissues. However, the isomeric compounds are rarely distinguished in the MS images, due to inability of MSI methods to differentiate isomers in the probing area. Coupling tandem mass spectrometry with MSI can facilitate differentiating isomeric compounds in ion images. Here we apply MALDI-TOF/TOF tandem mass spectrometry imaging approach to revealing the spatial distributions of isomeric disaccharides in plant tissues. First, the MS/MS imaging analysis of disaccharide-matrix droplet spots demonstrated the feasibility of distinguishing isomeric species in tissues, by measuring the relative intensity of specific fragments. Then, we conducted tandem MS imaging of disaccharides in onion bulb tissues, which indicated that sucrose and other unknown non-sucrose disaccharides exhibit heterogeneous locations throughout the tissues. This method enables us to image disaccharide isomers differentially in biological tissues, and to discover new saccharide species in plant. This work also emphasizes the necessity of considering isobaric compounds when interpreting MSI results.<br>

scholarly journals Soft X-ray Spectromicroscopy: A Versatile Tool to Probe Pristine Plant Cell Walls

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (S2) ◽  
pp. 358-359
Author(s):  
Hayato Hiraki ◽  
Na Liu ◽  
Jian Wang ◽  
Jarvis Stobbs ◽  
Chithra Karunakaran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Cell ◽  
Cell Walls ◽  
Plant Cell Walls ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Versatile Tool
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