Procedure

Equipment Required

• Fresh tap root (Carrot)
• Single edged sharp new blades
• Microscope slides
• cover slips
• Beaker
• Watch glass
• Stains (e.g., safranin, fast green, iodine)
• Dissecting needle
• Forceps
• Dropper
• Light microscope
• Blotting paper

Sample collection:

1. Choose a fresh root of a plant.

Sample Preparation:

1. Select a healthy taproot and rinse it gently under running water to remove soil and debris.
2. Trim the ends of the root to obtain a manageable length for sectioning.
3. Place the taproot horizontally on a clean cutting surface.
4. Use a sharp razor blade to make a clean transverse cut near the root tip. Make the cut perpendicular to the root axis.
5. Transfer the root section immediately to a petri dish containing water to prevent dehydration and to keep the section intact.

Staining & Mounting:

1. Use a pair of fine-pointed forceps to transfer the root section onto a glass microscope slide.
2. Add 2- 3 drops solution of safranin for 2-5 minutes. Safranin stains lignified and cutinized cell walls red.
3. Rinse the sections briefly in water to remove excess safranin.
4. Add a drop of water to the leaf section to prevent drying out and to create a wet mount.
5. Carefully place a coverslip over the leaf section, using a needle to gently lower it to and avoid trapping air bubbles.

Microscope Setup:

1. Place the prepared slide on the stage of the simple microscope.
2. Observe the section by turning the lowest magnification objective lens (usually 4x or 10x) and bring the sample into focus using the coarse and fine adjustment knobs.
3. Once the sample is roughly in focus, switch to higher magnification objective lens (40x) to observe finer details of the internal cells of the root.

Observation:

1. Move the slide around using the stage controls to explore different regions of root
2. Observe various structures such as epidermis, endodermis, pericycle, meristematic cell etc.
3. Take note of cell shape, size, arrangement, and any distinct features like root cap cell.