Subject: VAM (AMF) staining.

From: [email-masked] ("K N and P J Harris")
Date: Fri, 3 May 1996 19:11:31 GMT

Force of circumstance made me carry out some standard staining of onion 
roots for VAM which had been dried and kept very dry for six months. So 
dry that they were very brittle. A normal KOH then HCl then Trypan Blue 
stain was applied. I am sure that the results were better than with 
fresh root material. Has anyone else had the same experience ?
Peter Harris,
Department of Soil Science (The only one left in UK)
University of Reading.

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From: [email-masked] ("Stephen P. Bentivenga")
Date: 3 May 1996 13:34:37 -0700

On Fri, 3 May 1996 19:11:31 GMT  [email-masked] ("K N and P J

>Department of Soil Science (The only one left in UK)

I routinely stain roots after they have been oven dried.  I have found it is
the most convenient way to get both dry mass and % colonization data.  It
works well with most plant species.  I would not say that the results are
"better" but they are not any worse.  The only problem I have found is that
the hyphae and arbuscules often collapse after drying, making good
photographs difficult.  If you need pictures of the text book arbuscules I
don't recommend drying.  

- Steve Bentivenga   

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        .|             Stephen P. Bentivenga, Ph.D.        __            __
        ||             Division of Plant and Soil Sciences   \          /
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