Photographer Jan Martinek
THESE are plants like you have never seen them before. Vibrant, diverse and possessing an almost microbe-like quality, these images of plant cells were taken by Jan Martinek at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic.
As a plant cell biologist, Martinek is interested in the mechanisms that allow cells to shape themselves into the distinctive structures seen here. āMany of the images that I captured during my research also have some aesthetic qualities, soā¦ I decided to share them on my Instagram account to promote science to the public,ā he says.
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His account, , showcases the intricacy and beauty of plant cells and molecules using mainly fluorescence microscopy. This employs fluorescent dyes and specific wavelengths of light to illuminate cells and molecules ā making what is normally invisible suddenly visible, says Martinek.
The main image above shows the minute details of the roots of Arabidopsis thaliana, a small weed that is widely used as a model organism in research, for example in the study of genetics. The second image above is a hollyhock pollen grain viewed using a confocal microscope, a kind of fluorescence microscopy that maximises optical resolution and contrast.
The following images show cross-sections that reveal the inner āplumbingā of two plants: the rhizome ā an underground stem from which roots and shoots protrude ā of a common reed is shown below
The hollow stalk of a barley plant is shown below. The fluorescent blue indicates lignin, a polymer that provides the ābackboneā for plant cell walls, and theĀ red marks areas of active photosynthesis.
