EGGS-EYES-WASTE (MICROSCOPIC FORMS)

Please look at the selected pictures without prejudice but with free i magination! According to your background you will come up with quite d ifferent interpretations. Some of you may tend to interpret spherical forms at first glance as eggs; as symbols of the beginning of life (Fi g. 1 to 5). Triangular arrangements appear to be faces (Fig. 9 and 10) , paired ellipsoids form eyes (Fig. 11 and 12), and the remnants of li fe can be classified as waste (Fig. 13 to 16). For your interest in th e real nature of the pictures finally refer to the legends. The pictur es were made during microscopic investigations of bio-indications, in particular reactions of plants to environmental (edaphic, climatic, an tropogenic, biotic or abiotic) stress. Plant responses on the one hand depend on the nature of the stress, but on the other hand may be simi lar for different stresses, and therefore difficult to interpret. The cell size (Fig. 4) is determined by genetic factors and the conditions during cell growth. Narrowing of stomatal pores (Fig. 9 to 12) occurs when climatic factors such as temperature, humidity, light or wind ar e not optimal, but is also modified through the nutritional status of the plants or the ozone concentration in the air. Droplets of cell wal l material exuded on the outer cell walls (Fig. 5) are found as an eff ect of ozone, fungus or spider mite infection; the same as on callus c ells formed during grafting, and may therefore be a wounding reaction. The formation of oxalate crystals helps the plants to immobilize and thus detoxify excessive calcium ions (Fig. 6). The outermost coating o f coniferous needles with a wax layer (Fig. 7 and 11) protects them fr om desiccation. Microscopy detects the visit of infecting organisms e. g. spider mites (Fig. 1, 8 and 15), sapsucking insects (Fig. 3 and 14) or fungi (Fig. 13 and 14). Too much stress, will finally lead to cell death (Fig. 6 and 16). Nature, however, carefully recycles its own na tural waste. Dead organic material is not useless, but constitutes the basis for new life. For example aphids live on leaves; aphid honeydew is a substrate for fungal growth (Fig. 14) or is collected by ants, w hich are eaten by birds, (as are the aphids by ladybirds) and the inse cts themselves bear fungal infections and transmit viruses or mycoplas ma-like organisms to new plants. Needles shed after an aphid infection are colonized by microorganisms (Fig. 13) and decomposed by fungal hy phae, which, in turn are decomposed by bacteria, forming new humus, wh ich is the substrate of new plant growth.