title: Uvitex2B: a rapid and efficient stain for detection of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi within plant roots.
abstract: The study of arbuscular mycorrhiza often requires the staining of fungal structures using specific dyes. Fluorescent dyes such as acid fuchsin and wheat germ agglutinin conjugates give excellent results, but these compounds are either hazardous or very expensive. Here, we show that a safer and inexpensive dye, Uvitex2B, can be efficiently used to stain intraradical fungal structures formed by the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices in three plant species: carrot, Casuarina equisetifolia, and Medicago truncatula. The intensity and stability of Uvitex2B allow the acquisition of high-quality images using not only confocal laser scanning microscopy but also epifluorescence microscopy coupled with image deconvolution. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Uvitex2B and β-glucuronidase staining are compatible and can thus be used to reveal arbuscular mycorrhizal structures in the context of promoter activation analysis.
authors.affiliation: Département de Biologie Végétale, Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD), Dakar, Senegal. nathalie.diagne@ird.fr
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Diagne
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Escoute
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lartaud
authors.forename: Jean Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Verdeil
authors.forename: Claudine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Franche
authors.forename: Aboubacry
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kane
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bogusz
authors.forename: Diegane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Diouf
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Duponnois
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Svistoonoff
mesh_terms: D018552:Daucus carota / Q000382:microbiology; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry; D005658:Fungi / Q000737:chemistry*; D055137:Glomeromycota / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000382:microbiology; D046913:Medicago truncatula / Q000382:microbiology; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000382:microbiology*; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes