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Plants
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Microscopy Techniques in Plant Studies—2nd Edition
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Microscopy Techniques in Plant Studies—2nd Edition

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Development and Morphogenesis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2025 | Viewed by 2303

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Emilio de Castro Miguel

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Metallurgical and Materials, Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil
Interests: microscopy; plant ultrastructure; cell biology; nanomaterials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Maura Da Cunha

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Campos dos Goitacazes, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminensedisabled, Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil
Interests: plant science; microscopy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plant biology studies include several approaches, ranging from gene expression experiments to the evaluation of plant growth when in contact with nanostructured materials. Undoubtedly, all studies contribute to the accumulation of knowledge in plant physiology, anatomy, and ultrastructure. While many techniques can be used to advance research, microscopy techniques can be applied to solve problems in many fields of plant biology and are extremely versatile.

Recently, the investigation of plants using microscopy has surpassed traditional techniques such as light and scanning electron microscopy and has even focused on previously unapplied techniques, such as Raman microscopy, SIMS microscopy, focused ion beam, and others.

With the aim of strengthening the scientific basis for plant science, we welcome articles that enhance our understanding of all aspects of plant biology and that include microscopic investigation. Review articles are also welcome.

Dr. Emilio de Castro Miguel
Dr. Maura Da Cunha
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • plant microscopy
  • plant cell
  • ultrastructure cell wall
  • plant anatomy
  • nanotechnology

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 16019 KiB  
Article
Localization of Hydrogen Peroxide in Dormant Buds of Resistant and Susceptible Chestnut Cultivars: Changes During Gall Developmental Stages Induced by the Asian Chestnut Gall Wasp (Dryocosmus kuriphilus)
by Başak Müftüoğlu and Cevriye Mert
Plants 2025, 14(14), 2089; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14142089 - 8 Jul 2025
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Abstract
Asian chestnut gall wasp (ACGW) (Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu), native to China, is an invasive pest that causes significant economic losses in Castanea species. While some cultivars show full resistance by inhibiting insect development in buds, the underlying defense mechanisms remain unclear. In [...] Read more.
Asian chestnut gall wasp (ACGW) (Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu), native to China, is an invasive pest that causes significant economic losses in Castanea species. While some cultivars show full resistance by inhibiting insect development in buds, the underlying defense mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, the accumulation and distribution of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were investigated in dormant buds of chestnut cultivars that are resistant and susceptible to D. kuriphilus by using the 3,3′-diaminobenzidine (DAB) staining method. Buds were examined under a stereomicroscope during key stages of pest development, including oviposition, transition from egg to larva, gall induction, and gall development. Baseline levels of H2O2 were detected in all buds; however, these levels varied among cultivars, with resistant cultivars exhibiting lower basal levels. The degree of H2O2 accumulation was found to vary depending on plant–insect interaction, physiological processes, and cultivar-specific traits. Histochemical staining revealed that brown spots indicative of H2O2 accumulation were concentrated in the vascular bundles of leaf primordia and in the apical regions. In resistant hybrid cultivars, the defense response was activated at an earlier stage, while in resistant Castanea sativa Mill. cultivars, the response was delayed but more robust. Although consistently high levels of H2O2 were observed throughout the pest interaction in susceptible cultivars, gall development was not inhibited. During the onset of physiological bud break, increased H2O2 accumulation was observed across all cultivars. This increase was associated with endodormancy in susceptible cultivars and with both defense mechanisms and endodormancy processes in resistant cultivars. These findings highlight the significant role of H2O2 in plant defense responses, while also supporting its function as a multifunctional signaling molecule involved in gall development and the regulation of physiological processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microscopy Techniques in Plant Studies—2nd Edition)
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Graphical abstract

14 pages, 2640 KiB  
Article
Image-Based Quantitative Analysis of Epidermal Morphology in Wild Potato Leaves
by Ulyana S. Zubairova, Ivan N. Fomin, Kristina A. Koloshina, Alisa I. Barchuk, Tatyana V. Erst, Nadezhda A. Chalaya, Sophia V. Gerasimova and Alexey V. Doroshkov
Plants 2024, 13(21), 3084; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13213084 - 1 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1492
Abstract
The epidermal leaf patterns of plants exhibit remarkable diversity in cell shapes, sizes, and arrangements, driven by environmental interactions that lead to significant adaptive changes even among closely related species. The Solanaceae family, known for its high diversity of adaptive epidermal structures, has [...] Read more.
The epidermal leaf patterns of plants exhibit remarkable diversity in cell shapes, sizes, and arrangements, driven by environmental interactions that lead to significant adaptive changes even among closely related species. The Solanaceae family, known for its high diversity of adaptive epidermal structures, has traditionally been studied using qualitative phenotypic descriptions. To advance this, we developed a workflow combining multi-scale computer vision, image processing, and data analysis to extract digital descriptors for leaf epidermal cell morphology. Applied to nine wild potato species, this workflow quantified key morphological parameters, identifying descriptors for trichomes, stomata, and pavement cells, and revealing interdependencies among these traits. Principal component analysis (PCA) highlighted two main axes, accounting for 45% and 21% of variance, corresponding to features such as guard cell shape, trichome length, stomatal density, and trichome density. These axes aligned well with the historical and geographical origins of the species, separating southern from Central American species, and forming distinct clusters for monophyletic groups. This workflow thus establishes a quantitative foundation for investigating leaf epidermal cell morphology within phylogenetic and geographic contexts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microscopy Techniques in Plant Studies—2nd Edition)
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