Tracking Gene Expression via Light Sheet Microscopy and Computer Vision in Living Organisms

Area of Science:

• Developmental Biology
• Plant Science
• Bioimaging

Background:

• Automated tracking of spatiotemporal gene expression aids understanding of multicellular development.
• Current methods often require fluorescent tagging, which is time-consuming and costly in plants.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an automated solution for analyzing gene expression spatial characteristics without fluorescently tagged cell walls or nuclei.
• To determine gene expression location using non-fluorescent imaging channels.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a light sheet microscope with both fluorescent and Brightfield imaging channels.
• Developed an automated solution to indicate, segment, and track gene expression.
• Determined gene expression location from Brightfield images.

Main Results:

• Successfully demonstrated an automated method for analyzing spatial gene expression characteristics.
• Identified gene expression locations without relying on fluorescently tagged cellular structures.
• Applied the method to study heat shock stress effects on CYCLIN B1 protein production in Arabidopsis thaliana roots.

Conclusions:

• The proposed automated solution offers a faster and more cost-effective alternative to traditional methods for studying gene expression.
• This approach enables gene expression analysis without the need for genetically modified organisms with fluorescent markers.
• The technique is applicable to studying developmental processes and stress responses in plants.