We would like to thank Tal Nawy and Martin Bayer for their advice on embryo isolation. MTR, VG, UG and CB devised the embryo isolation equipment. MTR, VG and CB developed the embryo isolation protocol. MTR, VG and CB established the protocol, isolated the embryos, and generated embryo cDNA, VG performed the PCR, MTR the GUS staining, JJ the FISH experiments. MTR, VG, CG and UG wrote the manuscript. This work was funded by the University of Z&uuml;rich, a Fellowship of the Roche Research Foundation (to MTR), and grants from the Swiss National Foundation (to UG and CB).

The procedure is summarized in the flowchart shown in Figure 1. The microcapillaries and the instrumental setup are shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3, and typical steps of embryo isolation are shown in Figure 4.
1. Material and Buffer Preparation
1.1 Silicon coating of glass microcapillaries
<ol>
 <li>Place the microcapillaries in a 15 ml Falcon tube with ~5 ml of Sigmacote (Sigma) and invert several times.</li>
 <li>Remove the solution, place the Falcon tube containing the capillaries in an aluminum foil and bake them for 3 hr at 60 &deg;C. Store at room temperature.</li>
</ol>
1.2 Obtain ~50-100 &mu;m-diameter microcapillary tips
<ol>
 <li>Pull 1 mm-diameter glass capillaries either manually over a Bunsen burner or by using a commercial puller (vertical filament puller or micropipette puller).</li>
 <li>Use a diamond-tip pen or blade to cut the tip of the pulled capillary to create the desired opening. Select the best-shaped capillaries under a stereo microscope. The opening should be 50-100 &mu;m (Figure 2).</li>
</ol>
1.3 Slide preparation
<ol>
 <li>Siliconize clean slides by covering all the wells with Sigmacote (~1 ml/slide) for 5 min, remove. Bake 3 hr in aluminum foil. Store at room temperature.</li>
 <li>Wash the multi-well glass microscopic slides for 10 min in 10% SDS, 2 x 2 min in nuclease-free water (autoclaved DEPC-ddH2O), 2 min in 70% ethanol, 2 min in 100% ethanol, air-dry. All steps are done in autoclaved Coplin jars. Slides can be re-used multiple times providing thorough cleaning between each usage.</li>
 <li>Just prior to embryo isolation spread ~0.5 &mu;l of 10 mg/ml bovine serum albumin (BSA) with a pipette over the whole surface of each well and air-dry.</li>
</ol>
1.4 Microscope and capillary setup
<ol>
 <li>Use an inverted microscope with a 10x and 20x magnification objective. Optimize the light contrast (embryos are quite transparent).</li>
 <li>Place a micromanipulator to hold the glass capillary beside the microscope. The glass capillary is connected to a microinjector (Figure 3A) or to a regular P-200 pipette via a rubber tube (Figure 3B, see Discussion for a detailed description of this setup).</li>
 <li>Place the capillary above the microscope slide at a ~70&deg; angle (Figure 3) and adjust the position to have the opening in the field of view.</li>
 <li>Just prior to embryo isolation take up and release ~5-10 &mu;l BSA (1 mg/ml) to coat the capillary.</li>
</ol>
1.5 Buffers
Table 1 lists the isolation and destination buffers depending on the downstream applications.
<ol>
 <li>Prepare ~1 ml isolation buffer per sample freshly before use and keep it on ice.</li>
 <li>Prepare the destination buffer in a 0.5 ml Eppendorf low-binding tube on ice (molecular applications) or on a microscope slide (cytological applications) in a humid chamber.</li>
</ol>
2. Seed Dissection and Embryo Extraction
2.1 Synchronisation of Seed Development
<ol>
 <li class="jove_content">Emasculate flowers and keep them 2 days in the growth chamber while avoiding contact of the exposed pistils with other flowers, then pollinate them (e.g. 11).</li>
 <li class="jove_content">Test the stage of development under your growth conditions by microscopic investigation of cleared seeds. With our growth conditions (16 hr light at 21 &deg;C, 8 hr dark at 18 &deg;C and 70% humidity) seeds collected 2.5 days after pollination (DAP) yielded mainly 2-4 cell embryos and seeds collected 3.5 - 4 DAP yielded globular embryos.</li>
</ol>
2.2 Seed Dissection and Rupture
<ol>
 <li>Remove the seeds from 10-15 siliques (~2.5 DAP) under a stereomicroscope with forceps and insulin needles.</li>
 <li>Immerse the seeds in 20 &mu;l isolation buffer in a 2 ml round-bottom Eppendorf tube placed on ice.</li>
 <li>Gently crush the seeds with a plastic pestle (pre-cleaned with 10% SDS, rinsed with DEPC-ddH2O and washed with 70% ethanol) to release the embryos until the seed extract is cloudy. The force to apply is to be determined by every user upon trial.</li>
 <li>Rinse the pestle with 300 &mu;l of isolation buffer to wash the pestle and dilute the sample.</li>
 <li>Spin-down the extract at 5,000 x g for 5 sec. Gently resuspend the pelleted extract by pipetting up-and-down 2-3 times.</li>
 <li>Filter the extract with a 30 &mu;m nylon mesh (mounted on tube adaptors, e.g. from PartecCelltricks). Rinse the mesh with an additional 200 &mu;l isolation buffer.</li>
</ol>
3. Embryo Isolation
3.1 Slide preparation
<ol>
 <li>Place a clean, BSA-coated and siliconized multi-well slide on the stage of the inverted microscope, resuspend the filtered seed extract by pipetting gently up and down and pipette 2 droplets of 40-50 &mu;l seed extract into 1 or 2 wells. Screening only 1 or 2 drops at a time prevents evaporation of the sample.</li>
 <li>Place 50 &mu;l of fresh isolation buffer (1st wash drop) in a well of a different slide prepared as before. Keep this slide in a covered, humid chamber to prevent evaporation.</li>
</ol>
3.2 Screen, clean, collect
<ol>
 <li>Screen the droplets of seed extract for embryos at the desired stage with the 10x magnification objective. If necessary, confirm the stage with the 20x magnification. The embryos usually sink to the bottom of the slide.</li>
 <li>Manually remove debris around the embryo with a tungsten needle, an insulin needle or similar equipment.</li>
 <li>Move the glass capillary near the embryo using the micromanipulator, take up the embryo with as little solution as possible.</li>
 <li>Collect several embryos (e.g. all of one droplet) and release them in the 1st wash drop(molecular application) or in destination buffer (cytological applications). Each collecting round should be kept within 5-10 min and embryos should be collected in a minimal volume (the total volume of all collecting rounds should be &lt;5 &mu;l).</li>
 <li>Repeat the screening and collection until the desired amount of embryos is gathered in the 1st wash drop (centrally, if possible, to facilitate recollection).</li>
 <li>Recollect all embryos at once from the wash drop (if debris are carried over, remove them with a needle before recollection).</li>
 <li>Release the embryos into a 2nd wash drop of 50 &mu;l. Repeat 3.2.6.</li>
 <li>Release the embryos in the destination buffer. The transfer should involve only a contact, and not immersion, of the capillary tip.</li>
 <li>Replace the microcapillary for the next sample.</li>
</ol>

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L., Henikoff, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Extensive+demethylation+of+repetitive+elements+during+seed+development+underlies+gene+imprinting.">Extensive demethylation of repetitive elements during seed development underlies gene imprinting.</a> Science. 324, 1447-1451 (2009).</li><li>Muller, B., Sheen, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cytokinin+and+auxin+interaction+in+root+stem-cell+specification+during+early+embryogenesis.">Cytokinin and auxin interaction in root stem-cell specification during early embryogenesis.</a> Nature. 453, 1094-1097 (2008).</li><li>Gehring, M., Missirian, V., Henikoff, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Genomic+analysis+of+parent-of-origin+allelic+expression+in+Arabidopsis+thaliana+seeds.">Genomic analysis of parent-of-origin allelic expression in Arabidopsis thaliana seeds.</a> PLoS One. 6, 23687-23 (2011).</li><li>Xiang, D., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Genome-wide+analysis+reveals+gene+expression+and+metabolic+network+dynamics+during+embryo+development+in+Arabidopsis.">Genome-wide analysis reveals gene expression and metabolic network dynamics during embryo development in Arabidopsis.</a> Plant Physiol. 156, 346-356 (2011).</li><li>Nawy, T., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+GATA+factor+HANABA+TARANU+is+required+to+position+the+proembryo+boundary+in+the+early+Arabidopsis+embryo.">The GATA factor HANABA TARANU is required to position the proembryo boundary in the early Arabidopsis embryo.</a> Dev Cell. 19, 103-113 (2010).</li><li>Baroux, C., Pecinka, A., Fuchs, J., Schubert, I., Grossniklaus, U. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+triploid+endosperm+genome+of+Arabidopsis+adopts+a+peculiar,+parental-dosage-dependent+chromatin+organization.">The triploid endosperm genome of Arabidopsis adopts a peculiar, parental-dosage-dependent chromatin organization.</a> Plant Cell. 19, 1782-1794 (2007).</li><li>Autran, D., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Maternal+epigenetic+pathways+control+parental+contributions+to+Arabidopsis+early+embryogenesis.">Maternal epigenetic pathways control parental contributions to Arabidopsis early embryogenesis.</a> Cell. 145, 707-719 (2011).</li><li>Wohrmann, H. J., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Identification+of+a+DNA+methylation-independent+imprinting+control+region+at+the+Arabidopsis+MEDEA+locus.">Identification of a DNA methylation-independent imprinting control region at the Arabidopsis MEDEA locus.</a> Genes Dev. 26, 1837-1850 (2012).</li><li>Raissig, M. T., Baroux, C., Grossniklaus, U. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Regulation+and+Flexibility+of+Genomic+Imprinting+during+Seed+Development.">Regulation and Flexibility of Genomic Imprinting during Seed Development.</a> Plant Cell. 23, 16-26 (2011).</li><li>Rea, M., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Determination+of+DNA+methylation+of+imprinted+genes+in+Arabidopsis+endosperm.">Determination of DNA methylation of imprinted genes in Arabidopsis endosperm.</a> J. 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The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.

We developed an embryo isolation protocol that is rapid, effective, and can be easily transferred to other laboratories.
The equipment described here consists of an inverted microscope, a micromanipulator, glass microcapillaries, a vertical filament puller and a microinjector (Figure 3A). The setup is similar to the one described for single animal cell isolation for transcriptomics analyses 17. We also successfully worked with a more basic setup where glass microcap...

The embryo of flowering plants is surrounded by the endosperm, a nutritive tissue derived from a second fertilization event. Both embryo and endosperm are surrounded by several cell layers of the seed coat. Collectively these tissues form a seed, which develop inside the fruit. Thus, tissue- and cell-specific analyses of Arabidopsis embryos are strongly impaired due their inaccessibility. Nevertheless, embryos at the late-globular or later stages are relatively well amenable to manual dissection by using fine tungsten needles under the stereomicroscope, or by applying slight pressure on the seed using forceps to extract them. Such techniques were successfully used for transcriptome or epigenome profiling analyses such as microarray hybridization, bisulfite sequencing, or RNA sequencing (e.g. 1-3). In contrast, studies of embryos at the zygote to early globular stage remain technically challenging. To date, only a few studies have reported transcriptome analyses on young embryos using either laser-capture microdissection (LCM) of embryonic tissues from fixed seed sections 4 or manual extraction of individual embryos from within seeds using fine tools 5. However, LCM equipment is not commonly available and manual embryo extraction at early stages is time consuming and requiring excellent dissection skills that are not easily transferable. In addition to genome-wide analyses, in situ gene expression analyses are also difficult to perform on young, whole-mount embryos of Arabidopsis. To some extent, young embryos can be released on microscope slides by gentle pressure on the seeds and used for reporter gene assays or protein detection by immunostaining (for example see 6,7). This technique, however, does not allow high-throughput embryo isolation, thus hindering quantitative analyses.
Therefore, we developed an efficient and rapid protocol for early embryo isolation from Arabidopsis seeds that is simple to set up, easily transferable, and suitable for a variety of downstream applications. The basic principle is to gently crush seeds - dissected from young siliques in an Eppendorf tube using a plastic pestle in an appropriate isolation buffer. The seed extract is placed in droplets on a multi-well slide and is screened for the presence of released embryos at the desired stage using an inverted microscope. Embryos are collected using a glass microcapillary attached to a microinjector or a standard laboratory pipette. For molecular applications, embryos are washed twice by repeated release into drops of new isolation buffer before transferring them to the destination buffer in a minimal volume. For cytological applications (reporter assays, immunostaining, FISH), washing steps can be omitted.
The method offers several advantages: (i) it yields 25-40 embryos in ~45 min for cytological applications or in 3-4 hr for molecular applications (including the washing steps), (ii) it allows isolation of specific embryonic stages, (iii) it is easily transferable to other persons and laboratories due to its simple setup, (iv) it requires affordable equipment for the basic setup which is amenable to upgrades, and (v) it was successfully used for various downstream applications such as RNA sequencing 8, gene-specific DNA-methylation analysis 9, reporter assays (10 and Raissig et al., in prep.), and FISH (J. Jaenisch, U. Grossniklaus, C. Baroux unpublished, see Figure 5).

<table border="1">
	<tbody>
 <tr>
 <td>Name of the Reagent</td>
 <td>Company</td>
 <td>Catalogue Number</td>
 <td>Comments (optional)</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>REAGENTS</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Sigmacote</td>
 <td>SIGMA </td>
 <td>SL2-100 ml</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>RNAse OUT</td>
 <td>Invitrogen (life technologies)</td>
 <td>10777-019</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>First- strand buffer</td>
 <td>Invitrogen (life technologies)</td>
 <td>18064-022</td>
 <td>contained in Superscript II package</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>DTT</td>
 <td>Invitrogen (life technologies)</td>
 <td>18064-022</td>
 <td>contained in Superscript II package</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Bovine serum albumin (BSA) 100x =10 mg/ml </td>
 <td>New England Biolabs Inc.</td>
 <td></td>
 <td>Different suppliers will also work </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Thin wall Capillaries 1.0 mm</td>
 <td>World Precision Instruments</td>
 <td>TW100F-4</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>DNA LoBind tube 0.5 ml</td>
 <td>Vaudaux-Eppendorf</td>
 <td>0030108.035</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>CellTrics&Delta; 30 &mu;m</td>
 <td>PARTEC</td>
 <td>04-0042-2316</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>5wells 10 mm diameter slides</td>
 <td>Electron Microscopy Sciences</td>
 <td>63421-10</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Formaldehyde Solution</td>
 <td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
 <td>F1635</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Superfrost Plus slide</td>
 <td>Thermo Fisher</td>
 <td>J1800AMNZ</td>
 <td>Menzel-Gl&auml;ser</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Tris</td>
 <td>Amaresco</td>
 <td>0497</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>EDTA</td>
 <td>Applichem</td>
 <td>A2937</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Glycin</td>
 <td>Fluka</td>
 <td>50050</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>SDS pellets</td>
 <td>Roth</td>
 <td>CN30.3</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Micro Pestle</td>
 <td>VWR</td>
 <td>431-0094</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Microfine insulin syringes</td>
 <td>BD</td>
 <td>U-100</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>DEPC</td>
 <td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
 <td>D5758</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Ethanol</td>
 <td>Schaurlau</td>
 <td>ET00102500</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Forceps N5</td>
 <td>Dumont</td>
 <td>0108-5</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Bioanalyzer Pico Chip</td>
 <td>Agilent Technologies</td>
 <td>5067-1513</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>EQUIPMENT</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Inverted microscope</td>
 <td>Nikon TMS (Japan),</td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Micromanipulator</td>
 <td>Leitz</td>
 <td></td>
 <td>Leica</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Micomanipulator Post mount LH1 probe</td>
 <td>Leica microsystems</td>
 <td>39430101</td>
 <td>Different brand will also do the work</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Vertical filament puller</td>
 <td>Sutter instrument</td>
 <td>P-20 model</td>
 <td>Other model are also suitable </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Cell Tram vario</td>
 <td>Vaudaux-Eppendorf</td>
 <td>5176.000.033</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Bioanalyzer</td>
 <td>Agilent Technologies</td>
 <td>2100</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Qubit Fluorometer</td>
 <td>Invitrogen (life technologies</td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
	 </tbody>
 </table>

efficient and rapid isolation of early-stage embryos from arabidopsis thaliana seeds

In flowering plants, the embryo develops within a nourishing tissue - the endosperm - surrounded by the maternal seed integuments (or seed coat). As a consequence, the isolation of plant embryos at early stages (1 cell to globular stage) is technically challenging due to their relative inaccessibility. Efficient manual dissection at early stages is strongly impaired by the small size of young Arabidopsis seeds and the adhesiveness of the embryo to the surrounding tissues. Here, we describe a method that allows the efficient isolation of young Arabidopsis embryos, yielding up to 40 embryos in 1 hr to 4 hr, depending on the downstream application. Embryos are released into isolation buffer by slightly crushing 250-750 seeds with a plastic pestle in an Eppendorf tube. A glass microcapillary attached to either a standard laboratory pipette (via a rubber tube) or a hydraulically controlled microinjector is used to collect embryos from droplets placed on a multi-well slide on an inverted light microscope. The technical skills required are simple and easily transferable, and the basic setup does not require costly equipment. Collected embryos are suitable for a variety of downstream applications such as RT-PCR, RNA sequencing, DNA methylation analyses, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), immunostaining, and reporter gene assays.

Our embryo isolation procedure (Figure 1) allows isolation of up to 40 embryos in 4 hr if washes are performed, e.g. for molecular applications, or in less than an hour if washes are omitted, e.g. for cytological applications. Figure 2 displays high and low quality microcapillary tips and Figure 3 shows the setup of the embryo isolation machine. Figure 4 displays the process of embryo isolation on the inverted microscope.
<p class="...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Efficient and Rapid Isolation of Early-stage Embryos from Arabidopsis thaliana Seeds at JoVE.com

Efficient and Rapid Isolation of Early-stage Embryos from Arabidopsis thaliana Seeds

We report an efficient and simple method to isolate embryos at early stages of development from Arabidopsis thaliana seeds. Up to 40 embryos can be isolated in 1 hr to 4 hr, depending on the downstream application. The procedure is suitable for transcriptome, DNA methylation, reporter gene expression, immunostaining and fluorescence in situ hybridization analyses.

Efficient and Rapid Isolation of Early-stage Embryos from Arabidopsis thaliana Seeds

In flowering plants, the embryo develops within a nourishing tissue - the endosperm - surrounded by the maternal seed integuments (or seed coat). As a ...

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17.7K Views.  University of Zürich. We report an efficient and simple method to isolate embryos at early stages of development from Arabidopsis thaliana seeds. Up to 40 embryos can be isolated in 1 hr to 4 hr, depending on the downstream application. The procedure is suitable for transcriptome, DNA methylation, reporter gene expression, immunostaining and fluorescence in situ hybridization analyses.

Video: Efficient and Rapid Isolation of Early-stage Embryos from Arabidopsis thaliana Seeds

Placing Growth Factor-Coated Beads on Early Stage Chicken Embryos

The neural tube expresses many proteins in specific spatiotemporal patterns during development. These proteins have been shown to be critical for cell fate determination, cell migration, and formation of neural circuits. Neuronal induction and patterning involve bone morphogenetic protein (BMP), sonic hedgehog (SHH), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), among others. In particular, the expression pattern of Fgf8 is in close proximity to regions expressing BMP4 and SHH. This expression pattern is consistent with developmental interactions that facilitate patterning in the telencephalon.

Here we provide a visual demonstration of a method in which an in ovo preparation can be used to test the effects of Fgfs in the formation of the forebrain. Beads are coated with protein and placed in the developing neural tube to provide sustained exposure. Because the procedure uses small, carefully placed beads, it is minimally invasive and allows several beads to be placed within a single neural tube. Moreover, the method allows for continued development so that embryos can be analyzed at a more mature stage to detect changes in anatomy and in neural patterning. This simple but useful protocol allows for real time imaging. It provides a means to make spatially and temporally limited changes to endogenous protein levels.

A variety of growth factors and proteins interact to induce cells to take on different cell fates during development. Here we demonstrate the use of an in ovo preparation to address possible interactions between different proteins in development by placing beads on E2.5 chick embryos.

The neural tube expresses many proteins in specific spatiotemporal patterns during development.   These proteins have been shown to be critical for cell ...

Isolation of Protoplasts from Tissues of 14-day-old Seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana

Protoplasts are plant cells that have had their cell walls enzymatically removed. Isolation of protoplasts from different plant tissues was first reported more than 40 years ago 1 and has since been adapted to study a variety of cellular processes, such as subcellular localization of proteins, isolation of intact organelles and targeted gene-inactivation by double stranded RNA interference (RNAi) 2-5. Most of the protoplast isolation protocols use leaf tissues of mature Arabidopsis (e.g. 35-day-old plants) 2-4. We modified existing protocols by employing 14-day-old Arabidopsis seedlings. In this procedure, one gram of 14-day-old seedlings yielded 5 106-107 protoplasts that remain intact at least 96 hours. The yield of protoplasts from seedlings is comparable with preparations from leaves of mature Arabidopsis, but instead of 35-36 days, isolation of protoplasts is completed in 15 days. This allows decreasing the time and growth chamber space that are required for isolating protoplasts when mature plants are used, and expedites the downstream studies that require intact protoplasts.

Isolation of Protoplasts from Tissues of 14-day-old Seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana

This video shows a procedure for isolating intact protoplasts from tissues of 14-day-old seedlings of Arabidopsis. Given that the isolated protoplasts remain intact for at least 96h and are isolated from seedlings instead of one-month-old mature plants, this procedure expedites assays requiring intact protoplasts.

Protoplasts are plant cells that have had their cell walls enzymatically removed. Isolation of protoplasts  from different plant tissues was first ...

Floral-dip Transformation of Arabidopsis thaliana to Examine pTSO2::&beta;-glucuronidase Reporter Gene Expression

The ability to introduce foreign genes into an organism is the foundation for modern biology and biotechnology. In the model flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana, the floral-dip transformation method1-2 has replaced all previous methods because of its simplicity, efficiency, and low cost. Specifically, shoots of young flowering Arabidopsis plants are dipped in a solution of Agrobacterium tumefaciens carrying specific plasmid constructs. After dipping, the plants are returned to normal growth and yield seeds, a small percentage of which are transformed with the foreign gene and can be selected for on medium containing antibiotics. This floral-dip method significantly facilitated Arabidopsis research and contributed greatly to our understanding of plant gene function. In this study, we use the floral-dip method to transform a reporter gene, &beta;-glucuronidase (GUS), under the control of TSO2 promoter. TSO2, coding for the Ribonucleotide Reductase (RNR) small subunit3, is a cell cycle regulated gene essential for dNDP biosynthesis in the S-phase of the cell cycle. Examination of GUS expression in transgenic Arabidopsis seedlings shows that TSO2 is expressed in actively dividing tissues. The reported experimental method and materials can be easily adapted not only for research but also for education at high school and college levels.

Floral-dip Transformation of Arabidopsis thaliana to Examine pTSO2::&#946;-glucuronidase Reporter Gene Expression

This article illustrates the floral-dip method of Agrobacterium tumefaciens -mediated transformation of Arabidopsis thaliana. By introducing a cell-cycle regulated promoter-reporter, pTSO2::&beta;-glucuronidase (GUS), into Arabidopsis, we illustrates how one detects GUS reporter expression in transgenic seedlings.

The ability to introduce foreign genes into an organism is the foundation for modern biology and biotechnology. In the model flowering plant Arabidopsis ...

Arabidopsis thaliana Polar Glycerolipid Profiling by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) Coupled with Gas-Liquid Chromatography (GLC)

Biological membranes separate cells from the environment. From a single cell to multicellular plants and animals, glycerolipids, such as phosphatidylcholine or phosphatidylethanolamine, form bilayer membranes which act as both boundaries and interfaces for chemical exchange between cells and their surroundings. Unlike animals, plant cells have a special organelle for photosynthesis, the chloroplast. The intricate membrane system of the chloroplast contains unique glycerolipids, namely glycolipids lacking phosphorus: monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG), digalactosyldiacylglycerol (DGDG), sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol (SQDG)4. The roles of these lipids are beyond simply structural. These glycolipids and other glycerolipids were found in the crystal structures of photosystem I and II indicating the involvement of glycerolipids in photosynthesis8,11. During phosphate starvation, DGDG is transferred to extraplastidic membranes to compensate the loss of phospholipids9,12.
Much of our knowledge of the biosynthesis and function of these lipids has been derived from a combination of genetic and biochemical studies with Arabidopsis thaliana14. During these studies, a simple procedure for the analysis of polar lipids has been essential for the screening and analysis of lipid mutants and will be outlined in detail. A leaf lipid extract is first separated by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and glycerolipids are stained reversibly with iodine vapor. The individual lipids are scraped from the TLC plate and converted to fatty acyl methylesters (FAMEs), which are analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography coupled with flame ionization detection (FID-GLC) (Figure 1). This method has been proven to be a reliable tool for mutant screening. For example, the tgd1,2,3,4 endoplasmic reticulum-to-plastid lipid trafficking mutants were discovered based on the accumulation of an abnormal galactoglycerolipid: trigalactosyldiacylglycerol (TGDG) and a decrease in the relative amount of 18:3 (carbons : double bonds) fatty acyl groups in membrane lipids 3,13,18,20. This method is also applicable for determining enzymatic activities of proteins using lipids as substrate6.

Arabidopsis thaliana Polar Glycerolipid Profiling by Thin Layer Chromatography TLC Coupled with Gas-Liquid Chromatography GLC

Composition of polar lipid extracts and the fatty acid composition of individual glycerolipids are determined in a simple and robust lipid profiling experiment. For this purpose, glycerolipids are isolated by thin layer chromatography and subjected to transmethylation of their acyl groups. Fatty acyl methylesters are quantified by gas-liquid chromatography.

Biological membranes separate cells from the environment. From a single cell to multicellular plants and animals, glycerolipids, such as ...

Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Assay for Tissue-specific Genes using Early-stage Mouse Embryos

Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a powerful tool to identify protein:chromatin interactions that occur in the context of living cells 1-3. This technique has been widely exploited in tissue culture cells, and to a lesser extent, in primary tissue. The application of ChIP to rodent embryonic tissue, especially at early times of development, is complicated by the limited amount of tissue and the heterogeneity of cell and tissue types in the embryo. Here we present a method to perform ChIP using a dissociated embryonic day 8.5 (E8.5) embryo. Sheared chromatin from a single E8.5 embryo can be divided into up to five aliquots, which allows the investigator sufficient material for controls and for investigation of specific protein:chromatin interactions.
We have utilized this technique to begin to document protein:chromatin interactions during the specification of tissue-specific gene expression programs. The heterogeneity of cell types in an embryo necessarily restricts the application of this technique because the result is the detection of protein:chromatin interactions without distinguishing whether the interactions occur in all, a subset of, or a single cell type(s). However, examination of tissue-specific genes during or following the onset of tissue-specific gene expression is feasible for two reasons. First, immunoprecipitation of tissue specific factors necessarily isolates chromatin from the cell type where the factor is expressed. Second, immunoprecipitation of coactivators and histones containing post-translational modifications that are associated with gene activation should only be found at genes and gene regulatory sequences in the cell type where the gene is being or has been activated. The technique should be applicable to the study of most tissue-specific gene activation events.
In the example described below, we utilized E8.5 and E9.5 mouse embryos to examine factor binding at a skeletal muscle specific gene promoter. Somites, which are the precursor tissues from which the skeletal muscles of the trunk and limbs will form, are present at E8.5-9.54,5. Myogenin is a regulatory factor required for skeletal muscle differentiation 6-9. The data demonstrate that myogenin is associated with its own promoter in E8.5 and E9.5 embryos. Because myogenin is only expressed in somites at this stage of development 6,10, the data indicate that myogenin interactions with its own promoter have already occurred in skeletal muscle precursor cells in E8.5 embryos.

We demonstrate a chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) method to identify factor interactions at tissue-specific genes during or after the onset of tissue-specific gene expression in mouse embryonic tissue. This protocol should be widely applicable for the study of tissue-specific gene activation as it occurs during normal embryonic development.

Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a powerful tool to identify protein:chromatin interactions that occur in the context of living cells 1-3. This ...

Isolation and Purification of Kinesin from Drosophila Embryos

Motor proteins move cargos along microtubules, and transport them to specific sub-cellular locations. Because altered transport is suggested to underlie a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, understanding microtubule based motor transport and its regulation will likely ultimately lead to improved therapeutic approaches. Kinesin-1 is a eukaryotic motor protein which moves in an anterograde (plus-end) direction along microtubules (MTs), powered by ATP hydrolysis. Here we report a detailed purification protocol to isolate active full length kinesin from Drosophila embryos, thus allowing the combination of Drosophila genetics with single-molecule biophysical studies. Starting with approximately 50 laying cups, with approximately 1000 females per cup, we carried out overnight collections. This provided approximately 10 ml of packed embryos. The embryos were bleach dechorionated (yielding approximately 9 grams of embryos), and then homogenized. After disruption, the homogenate was clarified using a low speed spin followed by a high speed centrifugation. The clarified supernatant was treated with GTP and taxol to polymerize MTs. Kinesin was immobilized on polymerized MTs by adding the ATP analog, 5'-adenylyl imidodiphosphate at room temperature. After kinesin binding, microtubules were sedimented via high speed centrifugation through a sucrose cushion. The microtubule pellet was then re-suspended, and this process was repeated. Finally, ATP was added to release the kinesin from the MTs. High speed centrifugation then spun down the MTs, leaving the kinesin in the supernatant. This kinesin was subjected to a centrifugal filtration using a 100 KD cut off filter for further purification, aliquoted, snap frozen in liquid nitrogen, and stored at -80 &deg;C. SDS gel electrophoresis and western blotting was performed using the purified sample. The motor activity of purified samples before and after the final centrifugal filtration step was evaluated using an in vitro single molecule microtubule assay. The kinesin fractions before and after the centrifugal filtration showed processivity as previously reported in literature. Further experiments are underway to evaluate the interaction between kinesin and other transport related proteins.

Isolation and Purification of Kinesin from Drosophila Embryos

This is a protocol to isolate active full length Kinesin from Drosophila embryos for single-molecule biophysical studies. We show how to collect embryos, make the embryo lysate, and then polymerize microtubules (MTs). Kinesin is purified by immobilizing it on the MTs, spinning down the Kinesin-MT complexes, and then releasing the kinesin from the MTs via ATP addition.

Motor proteins move cargos along microtubules, and transport them to specific sub-cellular locations. Because altered transport is suggested to underlie a ...

Rapid and Efficient Generation of Neurons from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells in a Multititre Plate Format

Existing protocols for the generation of neurons from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are often tedious in that they are multistep procedures involving the isolation and expansion of neural precursor cells, prior to terminal differentiation. In comparison to these time-consuming approaches, we have recently found that combined inhibition of three signaling pathways, TGF&beta;/SMAD2, BMP/SMAD1, and FGF/ERK, promotes rapid induction of neuroectoderm from hPSCs, followed by immediate differentiation into functional neurons. Here, we have adapted our procedure to a novel multititre plate format, to further enhance its reproducibility and to make it compatible with mid-throughput applications. It comprises four days of neuroectoderm formation in floating spheres (embryoid bodies), followed by a further four days of differentiation into neurons under adherent conditions. Most cells obtained with this protocol appear to be bipolar sensory neurons. Moreover, the procedure is highly efficient, does not require particular expert skills, and is based on a simple chemically defined medium with cost-efficient small molecules. Due to these features, the procedure may serve as a useful platform for further functional investigation as well as for cell-based screening approaches requiring human sensory neurons or neurons of any type.

Protocols for neuronal differentiation of pluripotent human stem cells (hPSCs) are often time-consuming and require substantial cell culture skills. Here, we have adapted a small molecule-based differentiation procedure to a multititre plate format, allowing simple, rapid, and efficient generation of human neurons in a controlled manner.

Existing protocols for the generation of neurons from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are often tedious in that they are  multistep procedures ...

Metabolic Labeling and Membrane Fractionation for Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana Suspension Cell Cultures

Plasma membrane microdomains are features based on the physical properties of the lipid and sterol environment and have particular roles in signaling processes. Extracting sterol-enriched membrane microdomains from plant cells for proteomic analysis is a difficult task mainly due to multiple preparation steps and sources for contaminations from other cellular compartments. The plasma membrane constitutes only about 5-20% of all the membranes in a plant cell, and therefore isolation of highly purified plasma membrane fraction is challenging. A frequently used method involves aqueous two-phase partitioning in polyethylene glycol and dextran, which yields plasma membrane vesicles with a purity of 95% 1. Sterol-rich membrane microdomains within the plasma membrane are insoluble upon treatment with cold nonionic detergents at alkaline pH. This detergent-resistant membrane fraction can be separated from the bulk plasma membrane by ultracentrifugation in a sucrose gradient 2. Subsequently, proteins can be extracted from the low density band of the sucrose gradient by methanol/chloroform precipitation. Extracted protein will then be trypsin digested, desalted and finally analyzed by LC-MS/MS. Our extraction protocol for sterol-rich microdomains is optimized for the preparation of clean detergent-resistant membrane fractions from Arabidopsis thaliana cell cultures.
We use full metabolic labeling of Arabidopsis thaliana suspension cell cultures with K15NO3 as the only nitrogen source for quantitative comparative proteomic studies following biological treatment of interest 3. By mixing equal ratios of labeled and unlabeled cell cultures for joint protein extraction the influence of preparation steps on final quantitative result is kept at a minimum. Also loss of material during extraction will affect both control and treatment samples in the same way, and therefore the ratio of light and heave peptide will remain constant. In the proposed method either labeled or unlabeled cell culture undergoes a biological treatment, while the other serves as control 4.

Metabolic Labeling and Membrane Fractionation for Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana Suspension Cell Cultures

Here we describe a robust method for the fractionation of plant plasma membranes into detergent resistant and detergent soluble membranes based on a mixture of unlabeled and in vivo fully 15N labeled Arabidopsis thaliana cell cultures. The procedure is applied for comparative proteomic studies to understand signaling processes.

Plasma membrane microdomains are features based on the physical properties of the lipid and sterol environment and have particular roles in signaling ...

Histochemical Staining of Arabidopsis thaliana Secondary Cell Wall Elements

Arabidopsis thaliana is a model organism commonly used to understand and manipulate various cellular processes in plants, and it has been used extensively in the study of secondary cell wall formation. Secondary cell wall deposition occurs after the primary cell wall is laid down, a process carried out exclusively by specialized cells such as those forming vessel and fiber tissues. Most secondary cell walls are composed of cellulose (40&#8211;50%), hemicellulose (25&#8211;30%), and lignin (20&#8211;30%). Several mutations affecting secondary cell wall biosynthesis have been isolated, and the corresponding mutants may or may not exhibit obvious biochemical composition changes or visual phenotypes since these mutations could be masked by compensatory responses. Staining procedures have historically been used to show differences on a cellular basis. These methods are exclusively visual means of analysis; nevertheless their role in rapid and critical analysis is of great importance. Congo red and calcofluor white are stains used to detect polysaccharides, whereas M&#228;ule and phloroglucinol are commonly used to determine differences in lignin, and toluidine blue O is used to differentially stain polysaccharides and lignin. The seemingly simple techniques of sectioning, staining, and imaging can be a challenge for beginners. Starting with sample preparation using the A. thaliana model, this study details the protocols of a variety of staining methodologies that can be easily implemented for observation of cell and tissue organization in secondary cell walls of plants.

Histochemical Staining of Arabidopsis thaliana Secondary Cell Wall Elements

Plant cell wall composition varies between tissue types and can include lignin, cellulose, hemicelluloses, and pectin. Various staining techniques have been developed to visualize differences at the cell-type level. This paper is a compilation of commonly used cell wall staining techniques.

Arabidopsis thaliana is a model organism commonly used to understand and manipulate various cellular processes in plants, and it has been used extensively ...

Standardized Method for High-throughput Sterilization of Arabidopsis Seeds

Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) seedlings often need to be grown on sterile media. This requires prior seed sterilization to prevent the growth of microbial contaminants present on the seed surface. Currently, Arabidopsis seeds are sterilized using two distinct sterilization techniques in conditions that differ slightly between labs and have not been standardized, often resulting in only partially effective sterilization or in excessive seed mortality. Most of these methods are also not easily scalable to a large number of seed lines of diverse genotypes. As technologies for high-throughput analysis of Arabidopsis continue to proliferate, standardized techniques for sterilizing large numbers of seeds of different genotypes are becoming essential for conducting these types of experiments. The response of a number of Arabidopsis lines to two different sterilization techniques was evaluated based on seed germination rate and the level of seed contamination with microbes and other pathogens. The treatments included different concentrations of sterilizing agents and times of exposure, combined to determine optimal conditions for Arabidopsis seed sterilization. Optimized protocols have been developed for two different sterilization methods: bleach (liquid-phase) and chlorine (Cl2) gas (vapor-phase), both resulting in high seed germination rates and minimal microbial contamination. The utility of these protocols was illustrated through the testing of both wild type and mutant seeds with a range of germination potentials. Our results show that seeds can be effectively sterilized using either method without excessive seed mortality, although detrimental effects of sterilization were observed for seeds with lower than optimal germination potential. In addition, an equation was developed to enable researchers to apply the standardized chlorine gas sterilization conditions to airtight containers of different sizes. The protocols described here allow easy, efficient, and inexpensive seed sterilization for a large number of Arabidopsis lines.

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of bleach and chlorine gas sterilization on seed germination of a range of Arabidopsis genotypes grown on sterile media. Optimized sterilization protocols have been developed to prevent the growth of microbial contaminants while providing satisfactory seed survival.

Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) seedlings often need to be grown on sterile media. This requires prior seed sterilization to prevent the growth of ...