Name: Attachment of the Direct Plant Infusion (DPI) Device to Citrus Plants for Compound Injection
Uploaded: 2023-06-02T14:30:00
Duration: 1 min 38 s
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Attachment of the Direct Plant Infusion DPI Device to Citrus Plants for Compound Injection at JoVE.com

The video demonstrates how to propagate small potted citrus trees and attach a 3D-printed Direct Plant Infusion (DPI) device to their trunks. It includes instructions for creating a hole in the trunk, fitting the device, and ensuring proper alignment for effective compound delivery, using specific materials like silicone tape.

attachment of the direct plant infusion (dpi) device to citrus plants for compound injection

Molecule Delivery in Plants Using a Direct Infusion Device

The management of plants in commercial and landscape settings often requires the use of chemical compounds to optimize the plant growth and health. How these molecules are delivered depends on the type of molecule, the function of the molecule, the type of plant, and the management system in place. Foliar and soil applications are the easiest delivery strategies, but limitations in the uptake of some molecules necessitate direct delivery. An example of these molecules is therapeutic molecules that function best when they move systemically within the plant but cannot be effectively delivered by simple topical applications1. This is the case with Huanglongbing (HLB), also called citrus greening disease. HLB is a disease associated with a phloem-limited bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), which cannot be cultured outside of the plant, or its insect vector, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (D. citri)2.
If the putative therapeutic molecules are gene products, they can be tested by creating transgenic plants expressing these compounds. However, transgenic plant production can be time- and resource-intensive, is highly genotype-dependent, and can be inhibited by gene silencing3. In addition, even if these transgenics show promising results, regulatory and public perception constraints reduce the likelihood of their commercial acceptance4,5. The exogenous application of compounds, however, simplifies the testing of biological and synthetic molecules because it does not require the production of stable or transiently expressing transgenic plants, which reduces the time and resources for testing a molecule&#39;s effects. A method for the effective and efficient systemic plant delivery of exogenous compounds could be used for a wide variety of research and screening purposes.
One of these applications is the analysis of systemic molecule movement within a plant&#39;s vascular system, which can be done using trackable markers, whether they are fluorescent, visible, or unique chemical isotopes6,7,8,9. One commonly used fluorescent marker is 5,6-carboxyfluorescein-diacetate (CFDA), which is a membrane-permeable dye that is degraded by intracellular esterases into 5,6-carboxyfluorescein (CF) and, subsequently, becomes fluorescent and membrane-impermeable10. CFDA has been extensively used to monitor phloem transport, sink and source relationships, and vasculature patterning in plant tissue11,12.
In addition to these markers, certain compounds may directly alter the plant&#39;s physiology to increase the productivity or kill the plant in the case of herbicides. Both insecticides and antimicrobial compounds are a means of increasing plant productivity, especially in the presence of HLB. An example of an antimicrobial molecule that is used to control CLas is streptomycin. Streptomycin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic that was originally isolated from Streptomyces griseus and has been shown to inhibit bacterial growth through the inhibition of protein biosynthesis13. In terms of insecticides, the main target for HLB research is D. citri, which transmits CLas from tree to tree14. For this purpose, neonicotinoids, such as imidacloprid, are commonly utilized, as they are the gold standard for controlling insect pests15. All these varied uses are important aspects of current plant management strategies, and the development of novel products is dependent on efficient screening assays.
One method that is used for the introduction of compounds into woody plants is direct injection into the trunk. A variety of systems have been designed that vary in their needs for predrilled injection sites, and these systems utilize either pressure-based injection or passive flow16. Although pressure-based systems allow for the quick introduction of a given compound, the potential physical damage caused by forcing liquid through blocked or embolized vasculature needs to be considered17. Although the foliar or drench application of compounds is less time-intensive to implement, direct plant injection reduces waste of the compound of interest due to losses to the air or soil and can also lengthen the time that compounds are in an active state by reducing the exposure to the outside environment18. Both these aspects are important for preserving expensive reagents and ensuring consistency among replicates in research settings.
This study describes the design, construction, and use of an innovative direct plant infusion (DPI) device, which can be used to assess how compounds of interest affect a host plant. A standard 3D printer was used to manufacture both the device itself and several components associated with its construction. This in-house construction method allows researchers to modify the device and device components based on their specific experimental needs and reduces the reliance on commercially available plant injection devices. The device setup is simple and efficient, and all the auxiliary components are readily available and inexpensive. Although the system was designed for use with a variety of plant species, the examples presented here pertain to potted citrus plants. Additionally, this study demonstrates that this device is capable of efficiently delivering multiple types of compounds systemically to young citrus plants without causing lethality. The compounds tested included CFDA, which was used to assess the compound distribution in the plant, and streptomycin and imidacloprid, which were used to verify that the antimicrobial and insecticidal effects of these compounds were observed when delivered via DPI.

Author Spotlight: Direct Infusion Device for Molecule Delivery in Plants  

Direct Infusion Device for Molecule Delivery in Plants

Delivering a therapeutic molecule to where a pathogen resides in a plant can be challenging. Treating Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, or CLas, a bacteria that is limited to the phloem, poses one of the biggest challenges in delivering molecules against it, especially when using conventional methods such as spray applications. The ease of printing the direct plant infusion device and its simple implementation makes it accessible to anyone.This enables the widespread screening of molecules for their potential therapeutic effect in trees. An added benefit is that the diffusion of molecules utilizes the natural process of plant transpiration. Our research improved efficiency and precision of molecular delivery in plants, which can be used for a range of research applications.By screening hundreds of molecules on small plants, we can eliminate the need for larger trees, leading to a reduction in cost and space utilization.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Attachment of the Direct Plant Infusion DPI Device to Citrus Plants for Compound Injection at JoVE.com

Attachment of the Direct Plant Infusion (DPI) Device to Citrus Plants for Compound Injection  

Propagate small potted citrus trees from rooted vegetative cuttings or seeds. Grow the potted citrus lines at 28 degrees Celsius, maintaining a proper day length. Select citrus plants of the appropriate size for the experiment.To attach the 3D-printed Direct Plant Infusion or DPI device to the trunk of the plant, find a smooth, healthy site on the trunk without bumps or knots. Using a two-millimeter-diameter drill bit, horizontally drill a hole through the center of the stem at an angle of 90 degrees to the trunk surface. Run the drill bit through the hole several times to create an unobstructed, smooth hole.Then create a vertical slice in the plastisol ring on the opposite side of the compound delivery channel. Fit the ring around the plant, aligning the delivery channel with the previously-drilled hole. Attach the DPI device to the plastisol ring, ensuring they fit snugly together, and align the DPI device spout with the plastisol ring delivery channel and the drilled hole.Wrap it tightly with silicone tape to hold the apparatus in place. Inspect the fully assembled and attached device to ensure proper alignment and orientation. The groove around the vertical channel allowed additional compound uptake through the bark.When assembled properly, the plastisol ring flushed against the DPI device and the spout lined up with a hole drilled in the tree.

Research

JoVE Journal

Biology

Testing the function of therapeutic compounds in plants is an important component of agricultural research. Foliar and soil-drench methods are routine but ...