Imaging the Root Hair Morphology of Arabidopsis Seedlings in a Two-layer Microfluidic Platform
- Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
Root hairs increase root surface area for better water uptake and nutrient absorption by the plant. Because they are small in size and often obscured by their natural environment, root hair morphology and function are difficult to study and often excluded from plant research. In recent years, microfluidic platforms have offered a way to visualize root systems at high resolution without disturbing the roots during transfer to an imaging system. The microfluidic platform presented here builds on previous plant-on-a-chip research by incorporating a two-layer device to confine the Arabidopsis thaliana main root to the same optical plane as the root hairs. This design enables the quantification of root hairs on a cellular and organelle level and also prevents z-axis drifting during the addition of experimental treatments. We describe how to store the devices in a contained and hydrated environment, without the need for fluidic pumps, while maintaining a gnotobiotic environment for the seedling. After the optical imaging experiment, the device may be disassembled and used as a substrate for atomic force or scanning electron microscopy while keeping fine root structures intact.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 1427673
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Visualized Experiments, Vol. 126, Issue 126; ISSN 1940-087X
- Publisher:
- MyJoVE Corp.Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
Label-free time- and space-resolved exometabolite sampling of growing plant roots through nanoporous interfaces
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journal | July 2019 |
Increasing access to microfluidics for studying fungi and other branched biological structures
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