Laser-assisted microdissection applied to floral tissues

A high-resolution gene expression map of the medial and lateral domains of the gynoecium of Arabidopsis

Angiosperms are characterized by the formation of flowers, and in their inner floral whorl, one or various gynoecia are produced. These female reproductive structures are responsible for fruit and seed production, thus ensuring the reproductive competence of angiosperms. In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), the gynoecium is composed of two fused carpels with different tissues that need to develop and differentiate to form a mature gynoecium and thus the reproductive competence of Arabidopsis. For these reasons, they have become the object of study for floral and fruit development. However, due to the complexity of the gynoecium, specific spatio-temporal tissue expression patterns are still scarce. In this study, we used precise laser-assisted microdissection and high-throughput RNA sequencing to describe the transcriptional profiles of the medial and lateral domain tissues of the Arabidopsis gynoecium. We provide evidence that the method used is reliable and that, in addition to corroborating gene expression patterns of previously reported regulators of these tissues, we found genes whose expression dynamics point to being involved in cytokinin and auxin homeostasis and in cell cycle progression. Furthermore, based on differential gene expression analyses, we functionally characterized several genes and found that they are involved in gynoecium development. This resource is available via the Arabidopsis eFP browser and will serve the community in future studies on developmental and reproductive biology.

An optimized protocol for isolation of high-quality RNA through laser capture microdissection of leaf material

Laser Capture Microdissection is a powerful tool that allows thin slices of specific cell types to be separated from one another. However, the most commonly used protocol, which involves embedding tissue in paraffin wax, results in severely degraded RNA. Yields from low abundance cell types of leaves are particularly compromised. We reasoned that the relatively high temperature used for sample embedding, and aqueous conditions associated with sample preparation prior to microdissection contribute to RNA degradation. Here, we describe an optimized procedure to limit RNA degradation that is based on the use of low-melting-point wax as well as modifications to sample preparation prior to dissection, and isolation of paradermal, rather than transverse sections. Using this approach, high-quality RNA suitable for down-stream applications such as quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reactions or RNA-sequencing is recovered from microdissected bundle sheath strands and mesophyll cells of leaf tissue.

A protocol for laser microdissection (LMD) followed by transcriptome analysis of plant reproductive tissue in phylogenetically distant angiosperms

BACKGROUND

Plant development is controlled by the action of many, often connected gene regulatory networks. Differential gene expression controlled by internal and external cues is a major driver of growth and time specific differentiation in plants. Transcriptome analysis is the state-of-the-art method to detect spatio-temporal changes in gene expression during development. Monitoring changes in gene expression at early stages or in small plant organs and tissues requires an accurate technique of tissue isolation, which subsequently results in RNA of sufficient quality and quantity. Laser-microdissection enables such accurate dissection and collection of desired tissue from sectioned material at a microscopic level for RNA extraction and subsequent downstream analyses, such as transcriptome, proteome, genome or miRNA.

RESULTS

A protocol for laser-microdissection, RNA extraction and RNA-seq was optimized and verified for three distant angiosperm species: Arabidopsis thaliana (Brassicaceae), Oryza sativa (Poaceae) and Eschscholzia californica (Papaveraceae). Previously published protocols were improved in processing speed by reducing the vacuum intensity and incubation time during tissue fixation and incubation time and cryoprotection and by applying adhesive tape. The sample preparation and sectioning of complex and heterogenous flowers produced adequate histological quality and subsequent RNA extraction from micro-dissected gynoecia reliably generated samples of sufficient quality and quantity on all species for RNA-seq. Expression analysis of growth stage specific A. thaliana and O. sativa transcriptomes showed distinct patterns of expression of chromatin remodelers on different time points of gynoecium morphogenesis from the initiation of development to post-meiotic stages.

CONCLUSION

Here we describe a protocol for plant tissue preparation, cryoprotection, cryo-sectioning, laser microdissection and RNA sample preparation for Illumina sequencing of complex plant organs from three phyletically distant plant species. We are confident that this approach is widely applicable to other plant species to enable transcriptome analysis with high spatial resolution in non-model plant species. The protocol is rapid, produces high quality sections of complex organs and results in RNA of adequate quality well suited for RNA-seq approaches. We provide detailed description of each stage of sample preparation with the quality and quantity measurements as well as an analysis of generated transcriptomes.

Laser-assisted Microdissection (LAM) as a Tool for Transcriptional Profiling of Individual Cell Types

The understanding of developmental processes at the molecular level requires insights into transcriptional regulation, and thus the transcriptome, at the level of individual cell types. While the methods described here are generally applicable to a wide range of species and cell types, our research focuses on plant reproduction. Plant cultivation and seed production is of crucial importance for human and animal nutrition. A detailed understanding of the regulatory networks that govern the formation of the reproductive lineage (germline) and ultimately of seeds is a precondition for the targeted manipulation of plant reproduction. In particular, the engineering of apomixis (asexual reproduction through seeds) into crop plants promises great improvements, as it leads to the formation of clonal seeds that are genetically identical to the mother plant. Consequently, the cell types of the female germline are of major importance for the understanding and engineering of apomixis. However, as the corresponding cells are deeply embedded within the floral tissues, they are very difficult to access for experimental analyses, including cell-type specific transcriptomics. To overcome this limitation, sections of individual cells can be isolated by laser-assisted microdissection (LAM). While LAM in combination with transcriptional profiling allows the identification of genes and pathways active in any cell type with high specificity, establishing a suitable protocol can be challenging. Specifically, the quality of RNA obtained after LAM can be compromised, especially when small, single cells are targeted. To circumvent this problem, we have established a workflow for LAM that reproducibly results in high RNA quality that is well suitable for transcriptomics, as exemplified here by the isolation of cells of the female germline in apomictic Boechera. In this protocol, procedures are described for tissue preparation and LAM, also with regard to RNA extraction and quality control.

A Journey Through a Leaf: Phenomics Analysis of Leaf Growth in Arabidopsis thaliana

In Arabidopsis, leaves contribute to the largest part of the aboveground biomass. In these organs, light is captured and converted into chemical energy, which plants use to grow and complete their life cycle. Leaves emerge as a small pool of cells at the vegetative shoot apical meristem and develop into planar, complex organs through different interconnected cellular events. Over the last decade, numerous phenotyping techniques have been developed to visualize and quantify leaf size and growth, leading to the identification of numerous genes that contribute to the final size of leaves. In this review, we will start at the Arabidopsis rosette level and gradually zoom in from a macroscopic view on leaf growth to a microscopic and molecular view. Along this journey, we describe different techniques that have been key to identify important events during leaf development and discuss approaches that will further help unraveling the complex cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie leaf growth.

Gene coexpression patterns during early development of the native Arabidopsis reproductive meristem: novel candidate developmental regulators and patterns of functional redundancy

During very early stages of flower development in Arabidopsis thaliana, a series of key decisions are taken. Indeed, the position and the basic patterning of new flowers are determined in less than 4 days. Given that the scientific literature provides hard evidence for the function of only 10% of A. thaliana genes, we hypothesized that although many essential genes have already been identified, many poorly characterized genes are likely to be involved in floral patterning. In the current study, we use high-throughput sequencing to describe the transcriptome of the native inflorescence meristem, the floral meristem and the new flower immediately after the start of organ differentiation. We provide evidence that our experimental system is reliable and less affected by experimental artefacts than a widely used floral induction system. Furthermore, we show how these data can be used to identify candidate genes for functional studies, and to generate hypotheses of functional redundancies and regulatory interactions.