A study of healthy and virus-infected plant cells by thin-section methods

An account is given of preliminary work at Rothamsted Experimental Station to ascertain whether electron microscope pictures of thin sections can be made to give useful information on the nature and site or sites of plant virus multiplication. The appearance of the major cell-components of healthy tobacco plants is compared with that of cells infected by tobacco mosaic virus [cf. 35, p. 584], and the site of virus multiplication is discussed in the light of the results obtained. The technique developed in recent years for fixing, embedding, and sectioning animal tissues can be used successfully, with a few modifications, for plant tissues.