TO MAKE MICROSCOPE SLIDES OF

OCTOCORAL SCLERITES

Compiled by Gary Williams and Courtney Mattison

1. Put a small amount of octocoral tissue (about 5 cubic millimeters or less) in a small glass container such as a watch glass, cavity slide, or small vial.

2. Add 2 drops of common household bleach (sodium hypochlorite - NaOCl) to the tissue, using an eyedropper or pipette.

3. Macerate for about 5 minutes until a sufficient quantity of sclerites have been dissociated from the tissue sample. Remove pieces of excess tissue.

4. Fill the container with clean water. Allow all of the sclerites to sink to the bottom, then pipette off the liquid. Repeat this washing process two or more times.

5. Fill the container with 95% ethanol. Allow all the sclerites to sink to the bottom, then carefully pipette off the fluid. Fill the container with 95% ethanol once again. A current generated by a pipette will result in sclerites concentrated in the center of the watch glass.

6. Allow the sclerites to sink, then pipette a quantity of sclerites in ethanol from the container to the center of a glass microscope slide.

7. Air-dry completely until the sclerites look like dry powder on the slide.

8. Under a fume hood, add 5 drops of mounting medium such as CYTOSEAL to the sclerites on the slide.

9. Drop a square cover slip over the sclerites and mounting medium. Allow the slide to set on a flat surface for several days to dry.

10. Glue a square label printed from a computer, using font 7. Include scientific name, locality, museum collection catalog number, and where on the specimen the sclerites are from (surface coenenchyme, interior coenenchyme, polyp walls, calyces, anthocodiae, tentacles, crown and points, etc.).

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NOTE: for temporary slides, use GLYCEROL instead of PERMOUNT or CYTOSEAL.