Glowing plants reveal immune responses around infection sites via two colors
Researchers at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) have developed a new way to make glowing biological reporters more accurate, allowing scientists to track gene activity in living plants over days, weeks and potentially even months and years. The approach could help researchers study how plants respond to disease, pests and environmental stress, while opening the door to similar…
Researchers at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences have developed a new method to track gene activity in living plants using glowing reporters that reveal immune responses around infection sites. By creating a dual-color system with a red-shifted fungal luciferase paired with a green luminescent reporter, scientists can monitor hormone-driven responses over extended periods and detect localized immune activity even when metabolism causes large variations in overall brightness.
This technique, published in Nature Plants, transforms autoluminescence from a qualitative indicator into a quantitative measurement tool, allowing researchers to monitor molecular processes continuously and noninvasively using photographs in the dark.
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