Expression of pH-sensitive green fluorescent protein in Arabidopsis thaliana.
This is the first report on using green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a pH reporter in plants. Proton fluxes and pH regulation play important roles in plant cellular activity and therefore, it would be extremely helpful to have a plant gene reporter system for rapid, non-invasive visualization of intracellular pH changes. In order to develop such a system, we constructed three vectors for transient and stable transformation of plant cells with a pH-sensitive derivative of green fluorescent protein. Using these vectors, transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana and tobacco plants were produced. Here the application of pH-sensitive GFP technology in plants is described and, for the first time, the visualization of pH gradients between different developmental compartments in intact whole-root tissues of A. thaliana is reported. The utility of pH-sensitive GFP in revealing rapid, environmentally induced changes in cytoplasmic pH in roots is also demonstrated.
Moseyko
N
N
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3102, USA. moseyko@uclink4.berkeley.edu
Feldman
L J
LJ
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics*; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000737:chemistry*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant; D017930:Genes, Reporter / Q000235:genetics; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics; D011522:Protons; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000235:genetics
D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D011522:Protons; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins