Method for making paraffin section of elytrum of insect

Abstract

The invention provides a method for making a paraffin section of the elytrum of an insect. The method comprises the following steps: 1, distinguishing female and male coleoptera insects in a pupal stage and taking the elytra of the insects after eclosion for preparation of paraffin sections; 2, fixing the elytra, i.e., cutting the to-be-observed parts of the elytra obtained in the step 1 and fixing the parts with an FAA fixing agent; 3, dehydrating the elytra, i.e., successively dehydrating the fixed elytrum tissue with alcohols with different volume concentrations; 4, transparentizing the elytra, i.e., transparentizing the dehydrated elytra in a solution of anhydrous alcohol and xylene at first and then in xylene; 5, impregnating the elytra with paraffin, i.e., putting the transparentized elytra in a solution of soft paraffin and xylene with a temperature of 55 DEG C for 3 h at first and then in a solution of hard paraffin and xylene with a temperature of 65 DEG C for 3 h, and then carrying out excessive paraffin impregnation at a constant temperature of 65 DEG C for 6 h; 6, carrying out embedding and slicing; 7, carrying out unfolding, pasting and roasting; 8, carrying out paraffin removal and rehydration; and 9, carrying out dyeing and mounting. The elytrum paraffin section prepared by using the method has a high integrity rate and can meet requirements of research on the microstructure and ultrastructure of the elytra.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention relates to the technical field of microscopic tissue sectioning, in particular to a paraffin sectioning method for insect elytra. Background technique [0002] The forewings of Coleoptera insects are generally considered to be fully ossified, and are only used to protect the back and hindwings. Existing studies of neurons and nervous systems in the wings of Coleopteran insects are very weak and attribute this to the ossification of the elytra. But the actual situation is that the nerve cells distributed in the elytra are difficult to observe because of the ossification of the elytra, not that there are no living tissues and cells in the elytra. [0003] Tenebrio molitor adults have horny elytra, brown larvae, and like to eat flour, so they are called Tenebrio molitor, also known as mealworms. Tenebrio molitor is an omnivorous insect (the breeding of Tenebrio molitor is mainly fed with bran and rice bran, and fish meal, bean cake powder,...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

The original paraffin sectioning method, because of the hard texture of the elytra, the effect of paraffin penetration is very poor, which makes the fragmentation rate of the elytra slices extremely high, higher than 70%, which cannot meet the requirements for observing the internal microscopic and ultrastructure of the elytra. This is also the main reason why the current research on insect elytra is weak.