Fall 2015 Week 3

This week in lab I took pictures of possible endophytes in the leaves of silver leaved nightshade using a video equipped light microscope. I am attempting to compile some form of photo identification library for endophytes but am wondering if this is too large a scope for this project. Either way I need photos of my fungi in their native habitat so I will continue this for awhile.

One thing I've been struggling with while making my wet mount slides is the density of the leaves I'm looking through. They are so thick not much light is able to shine through making the photos dark and the structures indistinct. Also at very high magnifications small bumps and waves on the thick surface of the leaves translate to huge changes in elevations under the microscope. This means that to see the structure of a three dimensional object, such as a fungus inside a trichome, I have to adjust the fine focus of the microscope to get an idea of the structure. While this may be just a feature of using a microscope, I want to see what kinds of solutions I can come up with to make it easier for me to take 2 dimensional photos of 3 dimensional things. I am soaking a leaf in acetone to clear it and see if it makes it easier to see through the leaves.