Abiotic stress phenotyping of polyamine mutants

Abstract

Plant mutants in polyamine pathway genes are ideal for investigating their roles in stress responses. Here we describe easy-to-perform methods for phenotyping Arabidopsis mutants under abiotic stress. These include measurements of root growth, chlorophyll content, water loss, electrolyte leakage, and content of the reactive oxygen species hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and superoxide anion (O2–). Growth of Arabidopsis seedlings is described that enables transfer to different media for stress treatment without damaging roots.