Abstract
Due to technical limitations, research to date has mainly focused on the role of abiotic and biotic stress-signalling molecules in the aerial organs of plants, including the whole shoot, stem, and leaves. Novel experimental platforms including the dual-flow-RootChip (dfRC), PlantChip, and RootArray have since expanded this to plant-root cell analysis. Based on microfluidic platforms for flow stream shaping and force sensing on tip-growing organisms, the dfRC has further been expanded into a bi-directional dual-flow-RootChip (bi-dfRC), incorporating a second adjacent pair of inlets/outlet, enabling bi-directional asymmetric perfusion of treatments towards plant roots (shoot-to-root or root-to-shoot). This protocol outlines, in detail, the design and use of the bi-dfRC platform. Plant culture on chip is combined with guided root growth and controlled exposure of the primary root to solute changes. The impact of surface treatment on root growth and defence signals can be tracked in response to abiotic and biotic stress or the combinatory effect of both. In particular, this protocol highlights the ability of the platform to culture a variety of plants, such as Arabidopsis thaliana, Nicotiana benthamiana, and Solanum lycopersicum, on chip. It demonstrates that by simply altering the dimensions of the bi-dfRC, a broad application basis to study desired plant species with varying primary root sizes under microfluidics is achieved. Key features Expansion of the method developed by Stanley et al. (2018a) to study the directionality of defence signals responding to localised treatments. Description of a microfluidic platform allowing culture of plants with primary roots up to 40 mm length, 550 μm width, and 500 μm height. Treatment with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) to permanently retain the hydrophilicity of partially hydrophobic bi-dfRC microchannels, enabling use with surface-sensitive plant lines. Description of novel tubing array setup equipped with rotatable valves for switching treatment reagent and orientation, while live-imaging on the bi-dfRC. Graphical overview Graphical overview of bi-dfRC fabrication, plantlet culture, and setup for root physiological analysis.(a) Schematic diagram depicting photolithography and replica molding, to produce a PDMS device. (b) Schematic diagram depicting seed culture off chip, followed by sub-culture of 4-day-old plantlets on chip. (c) Schematic diagram depicting microscopy and imaging setup, equipped with a media delivery system for asymmetric treatment introduction into the bi-dfRC microchannel root physiological analysis under varying conditions.