25.03.2025

Lea Berg's image has been shortlisted for the Node-FocalPlane image competition.

An image competition was organised at the Biologists @ 100 conference in Liverpool, 24-27 March 2025. The extraordinary image of the mature leaf epidermis of Brachypodium by Lea Berg is one of 15 finalists in the Company of Biologist's Node-Focal Plane competition.

The picture shows mature epidermal cell types in a grass leaf of the emerging developmental model system Brachypodium distachyon. Cell outlines are blue, which is plant cell wall UV-autofluorescence. In yellow is stained lignin, a secondary cell wall modification that can be found in the hair cells (‘shark-tooth’-shaped) and the stomatal guard cells (‘dumbbell’-shaped). The image was taken with confocal microscopy and processed in Fiji. 

Congratulations to Lea on this wonderful shot and good luck in the final!