Imaging plant cells and organs with light-sheet and super-resolution microscopy

Area of Science:

• Plant Biology
• Microscopy
• Imaging Technologies

Background:

• Investigating plant growth and development necessitates advanced imaging for spatiotemporal resolution.
• Current research requires integrative and scalable approaches across various plant organization levels.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advancements in mesoscopy, microscopy, and nanoscopy for plant imaging.
• To discuss applications and expectations for light-sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) and super-resolution microscopy (SRM) in plants.
• To highlight limitations of current LSFM and SRM for plant sample imaging.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent developments in LSFM and SRM applied to plant samples.
• Analysis of advances in plant sample preparation and labeling strategies.
• Documentation of applications in model and crop plants like Arabidopsis thaliana, Medicago sativa, and Hordeum vulgare.

Main Results:

• Significant progress in LSFM and SRM for imaging plant subcellular compartments, cells, tissues, and organs.
• Identification of challenges including sample accommodation, spherical aberrations, and temporal restrictions for dynamic imaging.
• Successful application of new sample preparation and labeling techniques in various plant species.

Conclusions:

• LSFM and SRM are powerful tools for plant imaging, with ongoing improvements addressing current limitations.
• Future trends point towards integrative microscopic modalities for multiscale plant imaging on a single platform.
• Bridging LSFM and SRM is expected to enhance comprehensive plant imaging capabilities.