Imaging of Lipid Uptake in Arabidopsis Seedlings Utilizing Fluorescent Lipids and Confocal Microscopy

Eukaryotic cells use a diverse set of transporters to control the movement of lipids across their plasma membrane, which drastically affects membrane properties. Various tools and techniques to analyze the activity of these transporters have been developed. Among them, assays based on fluorescent phospholipid probes are particularly suitable, allowing for imaging and quantification of lipid internalization in living cells. Classically, these assays have been applied to yeast and animal cells. Here, we describe the adaptation of this powerful approach to characterize lipid internalization in plant roots and aerial tissues using confocal imaging. Graphic abstract: Fluorescent lipid uptake in Scale bars: seedling, 25 mm; leaf, 10 μm; root, 25 μm.