Microtubules in plant cells: Strategies and methods for immunofluorescence, transmission electron microscopy, and live cell imaging

Abstract

Microtubules (MTs) are required throughout plant development for a wide variety of processes, and different strategies have evolved to visualize and analyze them. This chapter provides specific methods that can be used to analyze microtubule organization and dynamic properties in plant systems and summarizes the advantages and limitations for each technique. We outline basic methods for preparing samples for immunofluorescence labeling, including an enzyme-based permeabilization method, and a freeze-shattering method, which generates microfractures in the cell wall to provide antibodies access to cells in cuticleladen aerial organs such as leaves. We discuss current options for live cell imaging of MTs with fluorescently tagged proteins (FPs), and provide chemical fixation, high-pressure freezing/freeze substitution, and postfixation staining protocols for preserving MTs for transmission electron microscopy and tomography.