Light and electron microscopy has become invaluable tools in plant science research and education. This project critically revisited both light and electron microscopy in the visualization of green and red leaves of flowering pear (Pyrus calleryana). Plant leaf color changes regularly occur in the fall, which is of both science and public interests. We used leaves of the flowering pear because this woody plant is commonly used in landscaping in many cities around the world. In order to visualize and compare the structures of green and red leaves, we prepared hand-sections from both green and red leaves. Sections were examined and imaged with a compound microscope and a laser scanning confocal microscope, respectively. Our data indicated that chlorophyll fluorescence intensity was significantly reduced in the red leaf compared to that of the green leaf. Histological data also showed that the pigment, which is called anthocyanin and makes the leaf red, was located in the leaf palisade and sponge parenchyma cells. Scanning electron microscopy provided detailed cellular pattern and stomatal distribution on leaf lower surfaces. And transmission electron microscopy data clearly revealed the chloroplast ultrastructure in the green leaf and its derivative – gerontoplast structure in the red leaf. This study provides us a new microscopic viewing of the outstanding natural phenomenon in the leaf color change in flowering pear and the microscopic methods described in this paper are useful for plant science research and education in general.
| Published in | Journal of Plant Sciences (Volume 1, Issue 3) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.jps.20130103.12 |
| Page(s) | 28-32 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2013. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Flowering Pear, Leaf Structure, Confocal Microscopy, Electron Microscopy
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APA Style
Guichuan Hou, Samuel S. Littlejohn. (2013). Visualization of Green and Red Leaf Structures in Flowering Pear Pyrus Calleryana Using Integrated Microscopy. Journal of Plant Sciences, 1(3), 28-32. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jps.20130103.12
ACS Style
Guichuan Hou; Samuel S. Littlejohn. Visualization of Green and Red Leaf Structures in Flowering Pear Pyrus Calleryana Using Integrated Microscopy. J. Plant Sci. 2013, 1(3), 28-32. doi: 10.11648/j.jps.20130103.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.jps.20130103.12,
author = {Guichuan Hou and Samuel S. Littlejohn},
title = {Visualization of Green and Red Leaf Structures in Flowering Pear Pyrus Calleryana Using Integrated Microscopy},
journal = {Journal of Plant Sciences},
volume = {1},
number = {3},
pages = {28-32},
doi = {10.11648/j.jps.20130103.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jps.20130103.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jps.20130103.12},
abstract = {Light and electron microscopy has become invaluable tools in plant science research and education. This project critically revisited both light and electron microscopy in the visualization of green and red leaves of flowering pear (Pyrus calleryana). Plant leaf color changes regularly occur in the fall, which is of both science and public interests. We used leaves of the flowering pear because this woody plant is commonly used in landscaping in many cities around the world. In order to visualize and compare the structures of green and red leaves, we prepared hand-sections from both green and red leaves. Sections were examined and imaged with a compound microscope and a laser scanning confocal microscope, respectively. Our data indicated that chlorophyll fluorescence intensity was significantly reduced in the red leaf compared to that of the green leaf. Histological data also showed that the pigment, which is called anthocyanin and makes the leaf red, was located in the leaf palisade and sponge parenchyma cells. Scanning electron microscopy provided detailed cellular pattern and stomatal distribution on leaf lower surfaces. And transmission electron microscopy data clearly revealed the chloroplast ultrastructure in the green leaf and its derivative – gerontoplast structure in the red leaf. This study provides us a new microscopic viewing of the outstanding natural phenomenon in the leaf color change in flowering pear and the microscopic methods described in this paper are useful for plant science research and education in general.},
year = {2013}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Visualization of Green and Red Leaf Structures in Flowering Pear Pyrus Calleryana Using Integrated Microscopy AU - Guichuan Hou AU - Samuel S. Littlejohn Y1 - 2013/10/20 PY - 2013 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jps.20130103.12 DO - 10.11648/j.jps.20130103.12 T2 - Journal of Plant Sciences JF - Journal of Plant Sciences JO - Journal of Plant Sciences SP - 28 EP - 32 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2331-0731 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jps.20130103.12 AB - Light and electron microscopy has become invaluable tools in plant science research and education. This project critically revisited both light and electron microscopy in the visualization of green and red leaves of flowering pear (Pyrus calleryana). Plant leaf color changes regularly occur in the fall, which is of both science and public interests. We used leaves of the flowering pear because this woody plant is commonly used in landscaping in many cities around the world. In order to visualize and compare the structures of green and red leaves, we prepared hand-sections from both green and red leaves. Sections were examined and imaged with a compound microscope and a laser scanning confocal microscope, respectively. Our data indicated that chlorophyll fluorescence intensity was significantly reduced in the red leaf compared to that of the green leaf. Histological data also showed that the pigment, which is called anthocyanin and makes the leaf red, was located in the leaf palisade and sponge parenchyma cells. Scanning electron microscopy provided detailed cellular pattern and stomatal distribution on leaf lower surfaces. And transmission electron microscopy data clearly revealed the chloroplast ultrastructure in the green leaf and its derivative – gerontoplast structure in the red leaf. This study provides us a new microscopic viewing of the outstanding natural phenomenon in the leaf color change in flowering pear and the microscopic methods described in this paper are useful for plant science research and education in general. VL - 1 IS - 3 ER -
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