Confocal Live Imaging of Shoot Apical Meristems from Different Plant Species

Summary

This protocol presents how to live image and analyze the shoot apical meristems from different plant species using laser scanning confocal microscopy.

Abstract

The shoot apical meristem (SAM) functions as a conserved stem cell reservoir and it generates almost all aboveground tissues during the postembryonic development. The activity and morphology of SAMs determine important agronomic traits, such as shoot architecture, size and number of reproductive organs, and most importantly, grain yield. Here, we provide a detailed protocol for analyzing both the surface morphology and the internal cellular structure of the living SAMs from different species through laser scanning confocal microscope. The whole procedure from the sample preparation to the acquisition of high resolution three-dimensional (3D) images can be accomplished within as short as 20 minutes. We demonstrate that this protocol is highly efficient for studying not only the inflorescence SAMs of the model species but also the vegetative meristems from different crops, providing a simple but powerful tool to study the organization and development of meristems across different plant species.

Introduction

The plant meristem contains a pool of undifferentiated stem cells and continuously sustains the plant organ growth and development¹. During the postembryonic development, almost all aboveground tissues of a plant are derived from the shoot apical meristem (SAM). In crops, the activity and size of the SAM and its derived floral meristems are tightly associated with many agronomic traits such as shoot architecture, fruit production, and seed yield. For example, in tomato, an enlarged SAM causes an increase in the shoot and inflorescence branching, and thus results in generating extra flower and fruit organs². In maize, an ....

Protocol

1. Media and imaging dishes preparation

1. MS plates: Add 0.5x Murashige & Skoog MS medium, 1% agar into deionized water and then adjust pH to 5.8 using potassium hydroxide solution (Optional: Add 1% sucrose for the long-term plant growing). Autoclave and pour plates.
2. Imaging dishes: Fill plastic Petri dishes (6 cm wide, 1.5 cm depth) to 0.5-0.8 cm with 1.5% molten agarose.

2. Plant growth

1. Arabidopsis growth
   1. Sow sterilized seeds on.......

Discussion

Here, we describe a simple imaging method that can be applied to the study of shoot apical meristems from different plants with minor modification, opening a new avenue to study the meristem regulation at both vegetative and reproductive stages in model plants and crops. In contrast to the SEM and histological staining methods, this protocol can help reveal both surface view and internal cellular structures of the SAMs, without the need for labor-intensive sample fixation and/or tissue sectioning steps. This protocol is .......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Agar Phyto	Dot Scientific Inc.	DSA20300-1000
Agarose	Dot Scientific Inc.	AGLE-500
Forceps	ROBOZ	RS-4955	Dumont #5SF Super Fine Forceps Inox Tip Size .025 X .005mm, for dissecting shoot apices.
LSM 880 Upright Confocal Microscope	Zeiss
Murashige & Skoog MS medium	Dot Scientific Inc.	DSM10200-50
Plan APO 20x/1.1 water dipping lens	Zeiss
Plastic petri dishes 100 mm X 15 mm	CELLTREAT Scientific Products	229694	Use as making MS plates
Plastic petri dishes60 mm X 15	CELLTREAT Scientific Products	229665	Use as imaging dishes
Propagation Mix	Sungro Horticulture
Propidium iodide	Acros Organics	440300250	1 mg/mL solution in water, to stain the cell walls
Razor blade	PERSONNA	62-0179	For cutting shoot apex from plants
Stereomicroscope	Nikon	SMZ1000
Tissue	VWR	82003-820
Zen black	Zeiss		Image acquisition software