Fig. 2

Representative tissues selected from three different species (E. californica, A. thaliana, O. sativa) which were cryo-sectioned and observed under an LMD microscope. Predetermined LMD elements to be excised and collected are shown in red in all sections except for d and k. For sections d and k, the whole section was excised and collected in pieces after removal of the ovules. a–d A. thaliana buds, e–h E. californica buds; i–k O. sativa. Tissue was collected at four different (three for O. sativa) developmental stages (Table 1): Initiation of carpel development (a, e, i); elongation of carpel walls (b, f, j); during meiosis (c, g) and after meiosis (d, h, k). a Stage 6; b stage 9; c stage 11; d stage 13, stages according to Smyth et al. [13]. e Stage 5; f stage 7; g stage 8, h stage 9, staging according to Becker et al. [12]. i stage 6; j stage 7; k stage 9, staging according to Ikeda et al. [15]. Sections are all transversal except in f (vertical), scale bar is 300 µm. l, m Illustrations of frozen O.C.T. compound blocks adhered to sample base before (l) and after (m) trimming the excess compound and adhering the adhesive film on the sample block. Grey, sample holder; green, embedded sample; blue O.C.T. surrounding the sample; yellow: LMD film; dotted line, sectioning plane