Imaging of calcium gradient oscillations in plant root hairs by light sheet fluorescence microscopy

Abstract

Root hairs are a delicate single-cell system whose growth is regulated by a fine mechanism characterised by the presence of a tip-high Ca2+ gradient that shows regular oscillations in growing root hairs. We show a method based on the use of Light sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) which allows the quasi-physiological analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana plant roots hairs with excellent spatial and temporal resolution over a wide field of view. We show how the healthy growing root hairs are linked to precise oscillations and how a disruption of this mechanism can be associated to specific genes.