World-first intracellular visualization of absorbed cesium distribution in plants

June 16, 2014

Significant contribution to development of a "super plant" for decontamination

A "Cesium Green" fluorescent probe was used to visualize the location of intracellular cesium distribution with novel precision by RIKEN CSRS and National Institute for Materials Science researchers.

Arabidopsis seeds were grown in a medium containing a high concentration of cesium carbonate. When the cotyledons were sprayed with Cesium Green, cesium presence was confirmed by green fluorescence. Using a fluorescence microscope, researchers also took advantage of the precise position-defining characteristics of Cesium Green to observe that cesium has a tendency to accumulate in cotyledon cell vacuoles.

These findings should contribute to vital knowledge about which plants are likely to concentrate cesium and which should be promoted for selective breeding, as well as elucidate the transport and accumulation mechanisms of cesium in plants and facilitate the selection and selective breeding of plants suitable for phytoremediation.

It is also hoped these findings will prove beneficial when agricultural activities resume in contaminated areas for confirming the absence or presence of cesium in crops and especially edible crops, by serving as a safety guideline for consumers to help aid agricultural reconstruction.

Original article

ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces doi: 10.1021/am5009453

M. Akamatsu, H. Komatsu, T. Mori, E. Adams, R. Shin, H. Sakai, M. Abe, J. P. Hill, K. Ariga,

"Intracellular Imaging of Cesium Distribution in Arabidopsis using Cesium Green".

Contact

Ryoung Shin: Unit Leader

Eri Adams: Postdoctoral Researcher

Regulatory Network Research Unit