Question

Name the stain which is commonly used to study plant cells.
A. Methylene blue
B. Cotton blue
C. Safranin
D. Acetocarmine

Answer 1

Hint: The dye reacts with lignin other plant cells and gives it a red color.

Complete answer: Methylene blue: Methylene blue is a common laboratory stain and is used for many different types of cells.
1. Stains animal cells to make nuclei more visible.
2. Methylene blue is an oxidizing chemical with a lot of biological activity; it does a very good job of staining DNA and RNA.
3. It is believed that methylene blue actually bonds with the base guanine

Cotton blue: Lactophenol cotton blue is a stain used to distinguish fungal mycelia from plant cells, which stains fungal hyphae in blue color, leaving the plant cell wall unstained.
Cotton blue is an acid dye that stains the chitin present in the cell walls of fungi.
Saffranin: The safranin stain is a cheaper and safer-lab stain.
1. Safranin is a certified stain for chromosomes.
2. It can be used to stain animals as well as plant cells for better cytological and histological analysis.
3. It allows easy and rapid detection of the plant's vascular tissue.
Acetocarmine: Acetocarmine stains are used in microscopic studies to enhance the contrast of specific biological components in a sample.
1. Acetocarmine is a stain used to stain nucleic acid inside cells.
2. As acetocarmine specifically-stain chromosomes apart from the cytoplasm, it can be used to visualize chromosomes in mitotic studies.

So, the correct answer is C. Safranin

Note: Safranin is the classic counterstain in both Gram stains and endospore staining. It can also be used for the detection of cartilage, mucin, and mast cell granules.