Imaging the visual systems of bumblebees and other pollinating insects may increase understanding of their dependence on specific habitats and how they will be affected by climate change. Current high-resolution imaging methods are either limited to two dimensions (light- and electron microscopy) or have limited access (synchrotron radiation x-ray tomography). For x-ray imaging, heavy metal stains are often used to increase contrast. Here, we present micron-resolution imaging of compound eyes of buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) using a table-top x-ray nanotomography (nano-CT) system. By propagation-based phase-contrast imaging, the use of stains was avoided and the microanatomy could more accurately be reconstructed than in samples stained with phosphotungstic acid or osmium tetroxide. The findings in the nano-CT images of the compound eye were confirmed by comparisons with light- and transmission electron microscopy of the same sample and finally, comparisons to synchrotron radiation tomography as well as to a commercial micro-CT system were done.

中文翻译：

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未染色 Bombus terrestris 复眼的实验室相位对比纳米断层扫描

对大黄蜂和其他授粉昆虫的视觉系统进行成像可能会增加对它们对特定栖息地的依赖以及它们将如何受到气候变化影响的理解。当前的高分辨率成像方法要么限于二维（光学和电子显微镜），要么具有有限的访问权限（同步辐射 X 射线断层扫描）。对于 X 射线成像，通常使用重金属染色剂来增加对比度。在这里，我们展示了黄尾大黄蜂（ Bombus terrestris）复眼的微米分辨率成像) 使用桌面 X 射线纳米断层扫描 (nano-CT) 系统。通过基于传播的相衬成像，避免了染色的使用，并且与用磷钨酸或四氧化锇染色的样品相比，可以更准确地重建显微解剖结构。通过与同一样品的光和透射电子显微镜进行比较，证实了复眼纳米 CT 图像中的发现，最后，与同步辐射断层扫描以及商业微型 CT 系统进行了比较。