Best practices in plant fluorescence imaging and reporting: A primer

Area of Science:

• Plant Biology
• Microscopy
• Developmental Biology

Background:

• Microscopy is crucial for plant research but presents unique challenges.
• Plant specimens have waxy cuticles, autofluorescence, and cell walls that complicate imaging.
• Beginner users and imaging facilities often lack specific expertise in plant sample preparation and imaging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To offer practical guidance for plant fluorescence microscopy workflows.
• To enhance the quality, transparency, and reproducibility of published microscopy results.
• To promote data sharing and reuse for meta-analyses.

Main Methods:

• Sharing collective experience from expert plant microscopists.
• Providing plant-specific advice for experimental design, sample preparation, and image acquisition.
• Presenting standards for methods reporting and tools for reproducibility.

Main Results:

• Detailed advice covering the entire fluorescence microscopy workflow.
• Examples and best practices tailored for plant specimens.
• Standards for reporting methods to improve transparency and data reuse.

Conclusions:

• Implementing these best practices will improve plant microscopy results.
• Enhanced transparency and reproducibility will facilitate data sharing and meta-analyses.
• This guide empowers researchers to overcome plant-specific imaging challenges.