Phosphoinositides derive from the phospholipid, phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns), by phosphorylation of the inositol ring in the lipid head group. The determination of phosphoinositide species is a particular challenge, because the structurally similar inositolphosph ...
Detection of polyphosphoinositides (PPIs) is difficult due to their low chemical abundancy. This problem is further complicated by the fact that PPIs are present as various, distinct isomers, which are difficult, if not impossible, to separate by conventional thin layer chromatograp ...
Lipidomic analyses through LC-, GC-, and ESI-MS/MS can detect numerous lipid species based on headgroup and fatty acid compositions but usually miss the minor phospholipids involved in cell signaling because of their low chemical abundancy. Due to their high turnover, these signaling lip ...
Detailed knowledge of the degree of ionization of lipid titratable groups is important for the evaluation of protein–lipid and lipid–lipid interactions. The degree of ionization is commonly evaluated by acid–base titration, but for lipids localized in a multicomponent membrane in ...
N-Acylethanolamines (NAEs) are fatty acid derivatives amide-linked to ethanolamine. NAEs vary in chain lengths and numbers of double bonds and generally reflect the fatty acids found in membrane lipids in the tissues in which they reside. NAEs are present naturally in trace amounts and occ ...
Defense signaling compounds and phytohormones play an essential role in the regulation of plant responses to various environmental abiotic and biotic stresses. Among the most severe stresses are herbivory, pathogen infection, and drought stress. The major hormones involved in the r ...
Sphingolipids generate signals in plants in response to a variety of biotic and abiotic stresses. Measuring these signaling compounds is complicated by the heterogeneity of structures within the sphingolipid family and the comparatively low concentration of their metabolites ...
Synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is allowing substantial advances in several disciplines of plant science by allowing the in situ examination of elements within plant tissues. Continual improvements in detector speed, sensitivity, and resolution are increasing the ...
Plant tissue analysis is a valuable tool for evaluating the nutritional status and quality of crops and is widely used for scientific and commercial purposes. The majority of plant analyzes are now performed by techniques based on ICP spectrometry such as inductively coupled plasma—opti ...
This chapter describes two basic complementary methods relevant to at least three major macronutrients in plants: NO 3 − , SO 4 2− , and phosphate. The first method is the simultaneous determination of tissue content of the oxyanions, NO 3 − , SO 4 2− , and phosphate by HPLC, and the second is the determination of tis ...
Visible-near infrared diffuse reflectance (vis-NIR) spectroscopy is a fast, nondestructive technique well suited for analyses of some of the essential constituents of the soil. These constituents, mainly clay minerals, organic matter and soil water strongly affect conditions f ...
Plant cell suspension cultures are widely used in plant biology as a convenient tool for the investigation of a wide range of phenomena, bypassing the structural complexity of the plant organism in toto. The homogeneity of an in vitro cell population, the large availability of material, the high r ...
Legume plants are used as a protein source for human and animal nutrition. The high protein content of legume plants is achieved via the establishment of a root symbiosis with rhizobia that allows the reduction of atmospheric nitrogen. In recent years, M. truncatula has been used as a legume model in vi ...
Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis is receiving increased attention as a potential contributor to sustainable crop plant nutrition. This chapter details a set of protocols for plant growth to study the development and physiology of the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis, and how to es ...
There is a variety of methods used for growing plants indoor for laboratory research. In most cases plant research requires germination and growth of plants. Often, people have adapted plant cultivation protocols to the conditions and materials at hand in their own laboratory and growth fac ...
Plants require macro- and micronutrients, each of which is essential for a plant to complete its life cycle. Adequate provision of nutrients impacts greatly on plant growth and as such is of crucial importance in the context of agriculture. Minerals are taken up by plant roots from the soil solution in ...
Remote sensing and spectral reflectance measurements of plants has long been used to assess the growth and nutrient status of plants in a noninvasive manner. With improved imaging and computer technologies, these approaches can now be used at high-throughput for more extensive physiol ...
Large-scale phenotyping methods are at the heart of efficiently deciphering the functions of genes and gene networks in the postgenomic era. In order to obtain meaningful results when comparing natural variants, and mutants and wild-types during large-scale quantitative analyses, ...
Ion-selective microelectrodes can be used to report intracellular ion concentrations. The ion-selective barrels of microelectrodes are filled with a sensor cocktail containing several different components including an ion-selective molecule, sensor or exchanger, a solv ...
Here, we describe a series of methods suitable for the measurement of cytosolic ion concentrations in living plant cells using ion selective dyes. We describe procedures for the use of SBFI for the measurement of Na+ in live cells. The resulting material is suitable for most standard cell biology pr ...