LIGHT AND SCANNING ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY OF GREENBUG APHID DAMAGE IN WHEAT USING THE SAME SECTION

A method has been developed to enable correlative light microscopy (LM ) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) on the same section of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) leaves infested by greenbug aphids (Schizaphis graminum Rondani). Segments of infested leaf tissue were fixed, embedd ed in paraffin, sectioned, and affixed to slides by standard histologi cal techniques. Serial sections were viewed by LM as temporary mounts in xylene. Sections of interest were identified and re-embedded in fin gernail polish, affixed to aluminum stubs, freed of polish with ethyl acetate or acetone, and sputter-coated for SEM. SEM of re-embedded lea f sections showed excellent preservation of leaf anatomy. The same aph id tracks and regions of cell damage identified by LM were visible. SE M increased resolution and provided a much clearer sense of the three- dimensional relations involved in the interaction between plant and in sect.