Abstract
Plant roots play critical roles in absorbing nutrients for the growth and development of plants as well as adapting different environments. Currently, there is no satisfactory way to track dynamic information when studying roots at the high temporal and spatial resolution. Herein, a simple microfluidic device with crossed microchannels was utilized for a microscopic investigation of Arabidopsis thaliana roots in situ. Our experimental results showed that the microfluidic system combined with a microscope could be conveniently utilized for the quantification of primary roots and root hairs with a change of micrometers within a time of minutes. Using the same approach, the influences of high salinity stress could also be investigated on different parts of roots, including the root cap, meristematic zone, elongation zone, mature zone, and root hairs. More importantly, the growth of roots and root hairs could be quantified and compared in a solution of abscisic acid and indole-3-acetic acid, respectively. Our study suggested that the microfluidic system could become a powerful tool for the quantitative investigation of Arabidopsis thaliana roots.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
D. Bhardwaj, A. Medici, A. Gojon, B. Lacombe, and N. Tuteja, Plant Signaling Behav., 2015, 10, e1049791.
C. D. Canto, M. Simonin, E. King, L. Moulin, M. J. Bennett, G. Castrillo, and L. Laplaze, Plant J., 2020, 102, 951.
K. Vissenberg, N. Claeijs, D. Balcerowicz, and S. Schoenaers, J. Exp. Bot., 2020, 71, 2412.
T. Prangemeier, F. X. Lehr, R. M. Schoeman, and H. Koeppl, Curr. Opin. Biotechnol., 2020, 63, 167.
A. Sanati Nezhad, Lab Chip, 2014, 14, 3262.
W. Busch, B. T. Moore, B. Martsberger, D. L. Mace, R. W. Twigg, J. Jung, I. Pruteanu-Malinici, S. J. Kennedy, G. K. Fricke, R. L. Clark, U. Ohler, and P. N. Benfey, Nat. Methods, 2012, 9, 1101.
G. Grossmann, W. J. Guo, D. W. Ehrhardt, W. B. Frommer, R. V. Sit, S. R. Quake, and M. Meier, Plant Cell, 2011, 23, 4234.
M. Meier, E. M. Lucchetta, and R. F. Ismagilov, Lab Chip, 2010, 10, 2147.
M. F. Noirot-Gros, S. V. Shinde, C. Akins, J. L. Johnson, S. Zerbs, R. Wilton, K. M. Kemner, P. Noirot, and G. Babnigg, Front. Plant Sci., 2020, 11, 408.
P. Kim, K. W. Kwon, M. C. Park, S. H. Lee, S. M. Kim. and K. Y. Suh, Biochip J., 2008, 2, 1.
M. Shibata and K. Sugimoto, J. Plant Res., 2019, 132, 301.
W. J. Liang, X. L. Ma, P. Wan, and L. Y. Liu, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 2018, 495, 286.
Y. Q. Yang and Y. Guo, J. Integr. Plant Biol., 2018, 60, 796.
L. Duan, J. Sebastian, and J. R. Dinneny, “Plant Cell Expansion: Methods and Protocols”, ed. J. M. Estevez, 2015, Humana Press.
S. Shabala, H. H. Wu, and J. Bose, Plant Sci., 2015, 241, 109.
D. Olatunji, D. Geelen, and I. Verstraeten, Int. J. Mol. Sci., 2017, 18.
L. R. Sun, Y. B. Wang, S. B. He, and F. S. Hao, Plant Signaling Behav., 2018, 13, e1500069.
B. Rymen, A. Kawamura, S. Schafer, C. Breuer, A. Iwase, M. Shibata, M. Ikeda, N. Mitsuda, C. Koncz, M. Ohme-Takagi, M. Matsui, and K. Sugimoto, Plant Physiol., 2017, 173, 1750.
R. J. Pitts, A. Cernac, and M. Estelle, Plant J., 1998, 16, 553.
K. Okada and Y. Shimura, Science, 1990, 250, 274.
M. Fendrych, M. Akhmanova, J. Merrin,M. Glanc, S. Hagihara, K. Takahashi, N. Uchida, K.U. Torii, and J. Friml, Nat. Plants, 2018, 4, 453.
Acknowledgements
The authors appreciate financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 31770399, 21375066, and 31400315), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (No. BK20130389), Qing Lan Project of Jiangsu Province, Six talent peaks project in Jiangsu Province (No. SWYY-061), and science and technology innovation project of Jiangsu Province (No. KYCX17-1908).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sun, L., Liu, L., Lin, X. et al. Microfluidic Devices for Monitoring the Root Morphology of Arabidopsis Thaliana in situ. ANAL. SCI. 37, 605–611 (2021). https://doi.org/10.2116/analsci.20P281
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2116/analsci.20P281