Regulating plant physiology with organic electronics
Wednesday, 2017/05/03 | 09:41:11
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David J. Poxson, Michal Karady, Roger Gabrielsson, Aziz Y. Alkattan, Anna Gustavsson, Siamsa M. Doyle, Stéphanie Robert, Karin Ljung, Markus Grebe, Daniel T. Simon, and Magnus Berggren SignificanceHormones play a crucial role in the coordination of the physiological processes within and between the cells and tissues of plants. However, due to a lack of capable technologies, direct and dynamic interactions with plants’ hormone-signaling systems remains limited. Here, we demonstrate the use of an organic electronic device—the organic electronic ion pump—to deliver the plant hormone auxin to the living root tissues of Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings, inducing differential concentration gradients and modulating plant physiology. Electronically regulated transport of aromatic structures such as auxin in an organic electronic device was achieved by synthesis of a previously unidentified class of dendritic polyelectrolyte. Such bioelectronic technology opens the door for precise, electronically mediated control of a plant’s growth and development. AbstractThe organic electronic ion pump (OEIP) provides flow-free and accurate delivery of small signaling compounds at high spatiotemporal resolution. To date, the application of OEIPs has been limited to delivery of nonaromatic molecules to mammalian systems, particularly for neuroscience applications. However, many long-standing questions in plant biology remain unanswered due to a lack of technology that precisely delivers plant hormones, based on cyclic alkanes or aromatic structures, to regulate plant physiology. Here, we report the employment of OEIPs for the delivery of the plant hormone auxin to induce differential concentration gradients and modulate plant physiology. We fabricated OEIP devices based on a synthesized dendritic polyelectrolyte that enables electrophoretic transport of aromatic substances. Delivery of auxin to transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings in vivo was monitored in real time via dynamic fluorescent auxin-response reporters and induced physiological responses in roots. Our results provide a starting point for technologies enabling direct, rapid, and dynamic electronic interaction with the biochemical regulation systems of plants.
See: http://www.pnas.org/content/114/18/4597.abstract.html?etoc PNAS May 2 1017; vol.114; no.18: 4597–4602
Figure 1: De novo design of an OEIP delivering IAA in vitro. Schematic diagrams of (A) OEIP device materials and geometries and (B) conceptualization of the cationic dendrolyte membrane. Anionic species such as IAA are selectively transported and migrate through the ion conducting channel in proportion to the applied potential gradient. (C) Photograph of the fully fabricated OEIP device. (D) Dendritic polyglycerol-based polyelectrolyte system (green) showing cross-linkages (black) and terminal groups (blue) with positive charge group (red). (E) OEIP mounted to a motorized micromanipulator and Arabidopsis seedlings positioned vertically on agar-growth plates. (F) OEIP positioned in proximity to the seedling root apical meristem (AM) and elongation zone (EZ). (G) OEIP delivery tip and root cross-section shown submerged in the agar-growth gel. Electrical current source, voltage meter (V), and electrode arrangement illustrated. Delivery of IAA is pictured as a diffusive concentration gradient from the OEIP delivery tip through the agar gel and exogenous to the root tissue. |
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