Electron Microscopy of Model Systems, Volume 96

This book covers the preparation of unicellular organisms, invertebrate and vertebrate model systems, tissue samples, and cultured cells for electron microscopy. The list includes the most “traditional” or popular systems, such as budding (Buser) or fission yeast (Roque and Antony), the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans (Müller-Reichert et al.), the fruitfly Drosophila (and other insects, Keil and Steinbrecht), the zebrafish (Schieber et al.), and the plant Arabidopsis (Kang). This volume, however, also covers the preparation of single cells and organisms that are less frequently used, such as archaea (Rachel et al.), Chlamydomonas (O’Toole), Tetrahymena (Giddings et al.), Paramecium (Hausmann and Allen), Dictyostelium (Koonce and Gräf), Hydra(Holstein et al.),  flatworms (Salvenmoser et al.), and the Axolotl (Kurth et al.). Model systems of medical importance are also included, such as viruses (Laue), Trypanosoma (Höög and Gull), and Plasmodium (Hanssen et al.).

A set of chapters is devoted to the preparation of specific tissues such as cartilage and bone (Keene and Tufa), mouse (Moebius et al.), and rat tissues (Vanhecke et al.). Two chapters deal with the specifics of sample preparation for the  cytoskeleton.The different fixation requirements for actin (Resch et al.) and intermediate filaments (Kirmse et al.) nicely illustrate that the biological question “dictates” the selection of a specific method out of a repertoire of several techniques. Some systems are also included here because they are used for exemplary cell biology studies on abscission (Guizetti et al.), viral infection (Walther et al.), and intracellular transport (van Weering et al.). Last but not least, the advantages of 2-D versus 3-D cell culture (Hess et al.) and “Tips and Tricks” for high-pressure freezing are presented (McDonald et al.).

Finally, this book is also a reflection of an ongoing discussion in the field of biological electron microscopy. What is the best method of fixation? Some authors argue for the exclusive application of cryopreparation and imaging, while others emphasize the need for initial chemical fixation, or the requirement for inactivation of infectious material. Again, a decision for any of the methods presented here  strongly depends on the biological question asked, the size of the biological system, and the practicality of the approach. The list of model systems presented here is by no means complete, but it is hoped that the models and techniques that are represented will help the reader to find appropriate methods for the preparation of her/his favorite system for electron microscopy.