[Histonet] Can acetic acid in fixative affect fungal staining by PAS?

[Conway, Carla]

Hello,

I fixed skin/muscle and gill tissues for 48 h in Dietrich's fixative (30 mL
95 % ethanol, 10 mL formalin, 2 mL glacial acetic acid and 58 mL deionized
water) and used the Hotchkiss-McManus PAS protocol to stain
*Saprolegnia *fungi.
The fungi are light green from the counterstain and not PAS-positive. I
used fresh staining reagents and am wondering if the acetic acid in the
Dietrich's fixative may have affected the cell walls. I'd appreciate your
comments and suggestions.

Thanks very much!

Carla

Carla Conway
Histology Technician
Western Fisheries Research Center, USGS
6505 N.E. 65th Street
Seattle, WA 98115-5016 USA
Phone: 206-526-2042
Fax: 206-526-6654
E-mail: cmconway <@t> usgs.gov