Postdoctoral Associate Donald Danforth Plant Science Center St. Louis, Missouri
Body of Abstract: Expansion microscopy (ExM) is a technique that achieves nanoscale-precision imaging by physically expanding fixed biological tissues embedded in a swellable hydrogel. ExM provides 3D imaging without the requirement of super-resolution microscopes. While ExM is commonly used in animal tissues and cells, there are few protocols specific for plants. Here, we present an approach to achieve consistent expansion of plant protoplasts. We also developed assays using expanded protoplasts to perform in situ hybridization chain reactions to visualize specific mRNAs and antibody labeling to image proteins. This toolkit was utilized in our study for observing the localization of photobodies in Arabidopsis and transcription factors involved in male sterility in maize at an increased resolution. Using this method, groups will be able to apply ExM in plant protoplast systems to resolve spatial information at a cellular level.