Live imaging of developing xylem in planta

Abstract

The xylem vessel develops from a long cylindrical cell that deposits a patterned secondary wall and ending with programmed cell death. The dynamic arrangement of cell wall enzymes, membranes and the cytoskeleton can be recorded using live fluorescence imaging. The protocol presented here focuses upon the microscopy of intracellular components in developing vessels of the root using either epifluorescent or confocal microscopes.