High resolution fluorescence stereomicroscope for 3D imaging

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In modern cell and molecular biology laboratories, careful observations of protein localization and cellular phenotypes are intensively used to gain insight into the role of specific genes in an organism. Therefore, in recent years, optical microscopy techniques have experienced a remarkable comeback in life science research. When dealing with larger specimens, upright or inverted microscopes are not adequate to provided sufficient depth of field. For this, researchers need a high resolution stereomicroscope. Furthermore, with the advent of various fluorescent protein tags, the availability of a high resolution fluorescent stereomicroscope will enable us to detect with higher efficiency protein fusions expressed in larger specimens, like pollen tubes or ovules. The equipment proposed here is intended firstly to cover our increasing and still unmet needs in: 1) dissection and observation of cleared tissues from mutants; 2) fluorescence applications that do not involve elaborate reconstructions through software analysis but that demand an increased depth of field like GFP fluorescent or aniline blue stained pollen tubes in fertilization studies; 3) higher throughput fast localization of GFP or YFP tagged protein in localization or protein-protein interaction studies. This will be particularly important for the rapid localization of cells expressing the fluorescent-tagged fusion proteins following transient expression through micro particle bombardment of onion epidermis or leaf agroinfiltration; 4) transmitted, reflected, or fluorescent light stereomicroscopy of larger samples that cannot be observed as a whole in a normal upright or inverted microscope due to poor depth of field, even at very low magnification.