An Efficient Clearing Protocol for the Study of Seed Development in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Summary

The tomato seed is an important model for studying genetics and developmental biology during plant reproduction. This protocol is useful for clearing tomato seeds at different developmental stages to observe the finer embryonic structure.

Abstract

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the major cash crops worldwide. The tomato seed is an important model for studying genetics and developmental biology during plant reproduction. Visualization of finer embryonic structure within a tomato seed is often hampered by seed coat mucilage, multi-cell-layered integument, and a thick-walled endosperm, which needs to be resolved by laborious embedding-sectioning. A simpler alternative is to employ tissue clearing techniques that turn the seed almost transparent using chemical agents. Although conventional clearing procedures allow deep insight into smaller seeds with a thinner seed coat, clearing tomato seeds continues to be technically challenging, especially in the late developmental stages.

Presented here is a rapid and labor-saving clearing protocol to observe tomato seed development from 3 to 23 days after flowering when embryonic morphology is nearly complete. This method combines chloral hydrate-based clearing solution widely used in Arabidopsis with other modifications, including the omission of Formalin-Aceto-Alcohol (FAA) fixation, the addition of sodium hypochlorite treatment of seeds, removal of the softened seed coat mucilage, and washing and vacuum treatment. This method can be applied for efficient clearing of tomato seeds at different developmental stages and is useful in full monitoring of the developmental process of mutant seeds with good spatial resolution. This clearing protocol may also be applied to deep imaging of other commercially important species in the Solanaceae.

Introduction

Tomato (S. lycopersicum L.) is one of the most important vegetable crops around the world, with an output of 186.8 million tons of fleshy fruits from 5.1 million hectares in 2020¹. It belongs to the large Solanaceae family with about 2,716 species², including many commercially important crops such as eggplant, peppers, potato, and tobacco. The cultivated tomato is a diploid species (2n = 2x = 24) with a genome size of approximately 900 Mb³. For a long time, great effort has been made toward tomato domestication and breeding by selecting desirable traits from wild Solanum spp. There are over 5,000 tomato accessions listed in the Tomato Genetics Resource Center and more than 80,000 germplasm of tomatoes are stored worldwide⁴. The tomato plant is perennial in the greenhouse and propagates by seeds. A mature tomato seed consists of three major compartments: a full-grown embryo, residual cellular-type endosperm, and a hard seed coat^5,6 (Figure 1A). After double fertilization, the development of cellular-type endosperm precedes the development of zygotes. At ~5-6 days after flowering (DAF), two-celled proembryo is first observed when the endosperm consists of six to eight nuclei⁷. In Solanum pimpinellifolium, the embryo approaches its final size after 20 DAF, and seeds are viable for germination after 32 DAF⁸. As the embryo develops, the endosperm is gradually absorbed and only a small amount of endosperm remains in the seed. The residual endosperm consists of micropylar endosperm surrounding the radicle tip, and lateral endosperm in the rest of the seed^9,10. The outer seed coat is developed from thickened and lignified outer epidermis of the integument, and with the dead layers of integument remnants, they form a hard shell to protect the embryo and endosperm⁵.

Figure 1: Schematic representation of a mature seed in Solanum lycopersicum and Arabidopsis thaliana. (A) Longitudinal anatomy of a mature tomato seed. (B) Longitudinal anatomy of a mature Arabidopsis seed. A mature tomato seed is approximately 70 times larger in size than an Arabidopsis seed. Scale bars = (A) 400 µm, (B) 100 µm. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.

Production of high-quality tomato seeds depends on the coordination between the embryo, the endosperm, and the maternal seed components¹¹. Dissecting key genes and networks in seed development requires a deep and full-track phenotypic recording of mutant seeds. Conventional embedding-sectioning techniques, such as the semi-thin section and paraffin section, are widely applied to tomato seeds to observe the local and finer structures of the embryo^12,13,14,15. However, analyzing the seed development from thin sections is usually laborious and lacks z-axis spatial resolution. In comparison, tissue clearing is a fast and efficient method to pinpoint the developmental stage of embryo defects that are most likely to occur¹⁶. The clearing method reduces the opaqueness of internal tissue by homogenizing the refractive index with one or more biochemical agents¹⁶. Whole tissue clearing allows observation of a plant tissue structure without destroying its integrity, and the combination of clearing technology and three-dimensional imaging has become an ideal solution to obtain information on the morphology and developmental state of a plant organ^17,18. Over the years, seed clearing techniques have been used in various plant species, including Arabidopsis thaliana, Hordeum vulgare, and Beta vulgaris^{19,20,21,22,23}. Among these, the whole-mount ovule clearing technology has been an efficient approach to studying seed development of Arabidopsis, due to its small size, 4-5 layers of the seed coat cell, and the nuclear-type endosperm^24,25. With the continuous updating of different clearing mixtures, such as the emergence of Hoyer's solution²⁶, internal structures of the barley ovule were imaged with a high degree of clarity although its endosperm makes up the bulk of the seeds. Embryogenesis of sugar beet can be observed by clearing combined with vacuum treatment and softening with hydrochloric acid¹⁹. Nonetheless, unlike the species mentioned above, embryological observations by clearing protocols in tomato seeds have not been reported. This prevents detailed investigation into the embryonic and seed development of tomatoes.

Chloral hydrate is commonly used as a clearing solution that allows the immersed tissues and cells to be displayed on different optical planes, and substantially preserves the cells or tissue components^27,28,29. Chloral hydrate-based clearing protocol has been successfully used for the whole-mount clearing of seeds to observe the embryo and endosperm of Arabidopsis^21,28. However, this clearing solution is not efficient in clearing tomato seeds, which are more impermeable than Arabidopsis seeds. The physical barriers include: (1) the tomato integument has nearly 20 cell layers at 3 to 15 DAF^30,31, (2) the tomato endosperm is cellular-type, not nuclear-type³², and (3) tomato seeds are about 70 times larger in size^33,34 and (4) produce large amounts of seed coat mucilage, which blocks the penetration of clearing reagents and affects the visualization of embryo cells.

Therefore, this report presents an optimized chloral hydrate-based clearing method for whole-mount clearing of tomato seeds at different stages, which allows deep imaging of the embryo development process (Figure 2).

Protocol

1. Preparation of solutions Prepare FAA fixative by adding 2.5 mL of 37% formaldehyde, 2.5 mL of glacial acetic acid, and 45 mL of 70% ethanol in a 50 mL centrifuge tube. Vortex and store it at 4 °C. Freshly prepare FAA fixative just before use. CAUTION: 37% formaldehyde is corrosive and potentially carcinogenic if exposed or inhaled. The fixative must be performed in a fume hood while wearing appropriate personal protective equipment. Prepare clearing solution by adding…

Representative Results

When tomato seeds were cleared using a conventional method as in Arabidopsis, dense endosperm cells blocked the visualization of early tomato embryos at 3 DAF and 6 DAF (Figure 3A,B). As the total volume of the embryo increased, a globular embryo was barely distinguishable at 9 DAF (Figure 3C). However, as the seed size continued to increase, its permeability decreased, resulting in a fuzzy heart embryo at 12 DAF (F…

Discussion

Compared to mechanical sectioning, the clearing technology is more advantageous for three-dimensional imaging as it retains the integrity of plant tissues or organs¹⁶. Conventional clearing protocols are often limited to small samples due to easier penetration of chemical solutions. Tomato seed is a problematic sample for tissue clearing because it is about 70 times larger than an Arabidopsis seed in size and has more permeability barriers. The Arabidopsis seed coat is composed o…

Materials

1,000 µL pipette	GILSON	FA10006M
1,000 µL pipette tips	Corning	T-1000-B
2 ml centrifuge tube	Axygen	MCT-200-C
37% formaldehyde	DAMAO	685-2013
5,000 µL pipette	Eppendorf	3120000275
5,000 µL pipette tips	biosharp	BS-5000-TL
50 ml centrifuge tube	Corning	430829
Absolute Ethanol	BOYUAN	678-2002
Bottle glass	Fisher	FB800-100
Chloral Hydrate	Meryer	M13315-100G
Coverslip	Leica	384200
DIC microscope	Zeiss	Axio Imager A1	10x, 20x and 40x magnification
Disinfectant	QIKELONGAN	17-9185
Dissecting needle	Bioroyee	17-9140
Flower nutrient soil	FANGJIE
Forceps	HAIOU	4-94
Glacial Acetic Acid	BOYUAN	676-2007
Glycerol	Solarbio	G8190
Magnetic stirrer	IKA	RET basic
Micro-Tom	Tomato Genetics Resource Center	LA3911
Orbital shaker	QILINBEIER	QB-206
Seeding substrate	PINDSTRUP	LV713/018-LV252	Screening:0-10 mm
Single concave slide	HUABODEYI	HBDY1895
Slide	Leica	3800381
Stereomicroscope	Leica	S8 APO	1x to 4x magnification
Tin foil	ZAOWUFANG	613
Tween 20	Sigma	P1379
Vacuum pump	SHIDING	SHB-III
Vortex meter	Silogex	MX-S