Imaging the Root Hair Morphology of Arabidopsis Seedlings in a Two-layer Microfluidic Platform

Summary

This article demonstrates how to culture Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings in a two-layer microfluidic platform that confines the main root and root hairs to a single optical plane. This platform can be used for real-time optical imaging of fine root morphology as well as for high-resolution imaging by other means.

Abstract

Root hairs increase root surface area for better water uptake and nutrient absorption by the plant. Because they are small in size and often obscured by their natural environment, root hair morphology and function are difficult to study and often excluded from plant research. In recent years, microfluidic platforms have offered a way to visualize root systems at high resolution without disturbing the roots during transfer to an imaging system. The microfluidic platform presented here builds on previous plant-on-a-chip research by incorporating a two-layer device to confine the Arabidopsis thaliana main root to the same optical plane as the root hairs. This design enables the quantification of root hairs on a cellular and organelle level and also prevents z-axis drifting during the addition of experimental treatments. We describe how to store the devices in a contained and hydrated environment, without the need for fluidic pumps, while maintaining a gnotobiotic environment for the seedling. After the optical imaging experiment, the device may be disassembled and used as a substrate for atomic force or scanning electron microscopy while keeping fine root structures intact.

Introduction

Fine root features increase water and nutrient acquisition for the plant, exploring new soil spaces and increasing the total root surface area. The turnover of these fine root features plays a major role in stimulating the underground food chain¹ and the number of fine roots in certain plant species is expected to double under elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide². Fine roots are generally defined as those smaller than 2 mm in diameter, although new definitions advocate for characterizing fine roots by their function³. Like many fine roots, root hairs provide the function of uptake and absorption b....

Protocol

1. Two-layer Platform Fabrication

1. Fabrication of multilayer masters
   1. Spin coat epoxy-based negative photoresist (~63.45% solids, 1,250 cSt) according to the manufacturer's specifications (2,000 rpm for 45 s) onto a 4 inch diameter silicon wafer to obtain the desired height of 20 µm for the first design layer.
   2. Soft-bake the resist coated wafers for 4 min at 95 °C. Allow wafer to cool for 5 min. Expose the wafer to UV light for 15 s (~150 mJ/cm² at 365 nm) through a photomask in a UV contact aligner to define the geometry of the bottom layer.
   3. Post-exposure bake the wafer for 5 min at ....

Results

The two-layer PDMS microfluidic devices described here have a 200 µm high channel for the main Arabidopsis root and a 20 µm high chamber to confine laterally growing root hairs (Figure 1A). This design may be used for plant species with similar root diameters as Arabidopsis thaliana and can be readily modified to accommodate species of different sizes. The design incorporates an inlet for the plant as well as 8 side inlets for any d.......

Discussion

The method described in this article for creating a plant-on-a-chip platform is unique in that the two-layer design confines the root hairs to a single imaging plane and the platform may be deconstructed and used as a substrate for high resolution non-optical imaging. Using high-resolution non-optical imaging can provide valuable information about the plant tissue that could not be obtained from optical imaging alone. For example, AFM imaging can provide force measurements to calculate the elasticity of root tissues duri.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Silicon Wafer	WRS Materials	100mm diameter, 500-550um thickness, Prime, 10-20 resistivity, N/Phos<100>
Quintel Contact Aligner	Neutronix Quintel Corp	NXQ 7500 Mask Aligner
Fluorescent Microscope	Nikon	Eclipse Ti-U
laboratory tissue	Kimberly Clark	Kimwipe KIMTECH SCIENCE Brand, 34155
Negative Photoresist Epoxy	Microchem	SU-8 2000s series
Photoresist developer	Microchem	Su-8 developer
trichloro(1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluoro-octyl)silane	Sigma Aldrich		use in chemical hood
Air Plasma Cleaner	Harrick Plasma
PDMS	Dow Corning	Sylgard 184 Silicone elastomer base
PDMS curing agent	Dow Corning	Sylgard 184 Silicone elastomer curing agent
Dessicator	Bel-Art	F42010-000
Scalpel	X-acto knife
Biopsy Punch	Ted Pella	15110-15
Adhesive tape	Staples	Invisible Tape
Microfuge tube	Eppendorf
Triton X	J.T.Baker XI98-07
Bleach	Chlorox	concentrated
Plant-Based Media	Phyto Technology Laboratories	M524
Agar	Teknova	A7777
Wax film	Parafilm
microscope	Olympus	IX51
Atomic Force Microscope	Keysight Technologies	5500 PicoPlus AFM
Petri dish	VWR
Scanning Electron Microscope	JEOL	7400
Dual Gun Electron Beam Evaporator	Thermionics	Custom Dual Electron Gun Evaporation System