Preparation of Fungi for Ultrastructural Investigations and Immunogoldlabelling

Electron microscopic analysis of biological material requires optimal preparation of the samples. This is necessary to prevent degeneration processes and changes of the material during microscopic observation. Both would lead to artefacts. In this chapter, we present methods to prepare fungi or plant tissues infected with fungi for transmission electron microscopy. This includes chemical fixations as well as cryofixation and the subsequent embedding in suitable resins. For cryofixation, the high pressure freeze fixation is described in detail. Further on, protocols for freeze substitution of cryofixed samples and immunogoldlabelling of ultrathin sections are included.