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Updated: Mar 18, 2026
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Published on: May 22, 2018
Long-Term Growth of Moss in Microfluidic Devices Enables Subcellular Studies in Development
Carlisle S Bascom1, Shu-Zon Wu1, Katherine Nelson1
1Department of Biology (C.S.B., S.-Z.W., M.B.) and Plant Biology Graduate Program (C.S.B.), University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003; andDepartment of Chemical Engineering (K.N., J.O.) and Department of Molecular Biology (K.N.), University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82071.
Researchers cultured the land plant Physcomitrella patens in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic chambers. This method enables high-resolution, long-term imaging of plant development, facilitating the study of cellular and subcellular events in real time.
Area of Science:
- Plant developmental biology
- Microfluidics
- Cellular imaging
Background:
- Studying subcellular and cellular development in plants is challenging due to accessibility issues.
- Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic devices offer a novel approach for culturing and imaging biological samples.
- Physcomitrella patens is a model organism with established genetic tools, suitable for developmental studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish a method for long-term culturing and high-resolution imaging of Physcomitrella patens in PDMS microfluidic chambers.
- To investigate key developmental events in P. patens at the cellular and subcellular levels in real time.
- To enable the study of plant development in conjunction with genetic manipulation.
Main Methods:
- Continuous culturing of Physcomitrella patens within PDMS microfluidic chambers bonded to coverslips.
- High-resolution, long-term live imaging using confocal microscopy.
- Growth rate analysis of wild-type and mutant P. patens.
Main Results:
- Physcomitrella patens can be successfully cultured and imaged over extended periods in PDMS microfluidic chambers.
- Protonemal tissue growth rates in PDMS chambers match previously reported values for solid media.
- The system is compatible with high-resolution confocal microscopy, allowing visualization of developmental events and analysis of growth rates for mutants.
Conclusions:
- PDMS microfluidic chambers provide a robust platform for studying plant development in real time.
- This approach integrates advanced imaging with the genetic tractability of Physcomitrella patens.
- It opens new avenues for investigating complex cellular and subcellular developmental processes in plants.
