Application of the Altmann Freezing-Drying Technique to Plant Cytology

Abstract
The Altmann technique of fixation by dehydrating frozen tissues in a vacuum at -20[degree]C. or lower was applied to anthers of Lilium longiflorum and root tips of Allium cepa, employing mechanical refrigeration. Theory regarding dehydration process shows vacuum pressure need not be lower than 1 micron of Hg, at -32[degree]C. A convenient apparatus is described. Plant tissue, as contrasted with certain rat tissues, required a longer time for both dehydration and paraffin infiltration and gave in general a lower quality of fixation. However, the method often rendered unusually clear the mitochondria and chromonematic details of chromosomes, the latter being further discussed in a later article (Univ. California Publ. Bot. 18(2/3) 23-44. 1935).

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