Nanoscopic X-ray tomography for correlative microscopy of a small meiofaunal sea-cucumber

Ferstl S, Schwaha T, Ruthensteiner B, Hehn L, Allner S, Mueller M, Dierolf M, Achterhold K, Pfeiffer F (2020)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2020

Journal

Scientific Reports Nature Publishing Group: Open Access Journals - Option B

Book Volume: 10

Article Number: 3960

Journal Issue: 1

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-60977-5

Abstract

In the field of correlative microscopy, light and electron microscopy form a powerful combination for morphological analyses in zoology. Due to sample thickness limitations, these imaging techniques often require sectioning to investigate small animals and thereby suffer from various artefacts. A recently introduced nanoscopic X-ray computed tomography (NanoCT) setup has been used to image several biological objects, none that were, however, embedded into resin, which is prerequisite for a multitude of correlative applications. In this study, we assess the value of this NanoCT for correlative microscopy. For this purpose, we imaged a resin-embedded, meiofaunal sea cucumber with an approximate length of 1 mm, where microCT would yield only little information about the internal anatomy. The resulting NanoCT data exhibits isotropic 3D resolution, offers deeper insights into the 3D microstructure, and thereby allows for a complete morphological characterization. For comparative purposes, the specimen was sectioned subsequently to evaluate the NanoCT data versus serial sectioning light microscopy (ss-LM). To correct for mechanical instabilities and drift artefacts, we applied an alternative alignment procedure for CT reconstruction. We thereby achieve a level of detail on the subcellular scale comparable to ss-LM images in the sectioning plane.

Involved external institutions

Technische Universität München (TUM) DE Germany (DE) Universität Wien / University of Vienna AT Austria (AT) Zoologische Staatssammlung München (ZSM) DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Ferstl, S., Schwaha, T., Ruthensteiner, B., Hehn, L., Allner, S., Mueller, M.,... Pfeiffer, F. (2020). Nanoscopic X-ray tomography for correlative microscopy of a small meiofaunal sea-cucumber. Scientific Reports, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-60977-5

MLA:

Ferstl, Simone, et al. "Nanoscopic X-ray tomography for correlative microscopy of a small meiofaunal sea-cucumber." Scientific Reports 10.1 (2020).

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