Mitosis as discerned in the scanning electron microscope.

Endosperm cells of Haemanthus katherinae Baker were flattened out between coverslips and fixed by perfusion with glutaraldehyde. Suitable preparations, with mitotic figures which lacked or had a minimum of covering cytoplasm were analyzed in the scanning electron microscope. The different stages of mitosis were documented, and the chromosomes and the spindle were easily differentiable. The observations made on prophase nuclei, the intact mitotic apparatus at metaphase and anaphase, and the phragmoplast at telophase agreed well with what is known about plant mitosis and cytokinesis. Scanning electron microscopy, providing a topographical view of structures, is a complementary means for studies on the structure and function of the mitotic apparatus.