Downie Helen F, Valentine Tracy A, Otten Wilfred, Spiers Andrew J, Dupuy Lionel X
a The James Hutton Institute ; Invergowrie , Dundee , UK.
Plant Signal Behav. 2014;9(10):e970421. doi: 10.4161/15592316.2014.970421.
The recently developed transparent soil consists of particles of Nafion, a polymer with a low refractive index (RI), which is prepared by milling and chemical treatment for use as a soil analog. After the addition of a RI-matched solution, confocal imaging can be carried out in vivo and without destructive sampling. In a previous study, we showed that the new substrate provides a good approximation of plant growth conditions found in natural soils. In this paper, we present further development of the techniques for detailed quantitative analysis of images of root-microbe interactions in situ. Using this system it was possible for the first time to analyze bacterial distribution along the roots and in the bulk substrate in vivo. These findings indicate that the coupling of transparent soil with light microscopy is an important advance toward the discovery of the mechanisms of microbial colonisation of the rhizosphere.
最近开发的透明土壤由纳夫ion颗粒组成，纳夫ion是一种具有低折射率（RI）的聚合物，通过研磨和化学处理制备而成，用作土壤模拟物。添加与折射率匹配的溶液后，可以在体内进行共聚焦成像，且无需进行破坏性采样。在之前的一项研究中，我们表明这种新基质能够很好地模拟天然土壤中的植物生长条件。在本文中，我们展示了用于原位详细定量分析根际微生物相互作用图像的技术的进一步发展。利用该系统，首次能够在体内分析细菌沿根以及在大量基质中的分布。这些发现表明，透明土壤与光学显微镜的结合是朝着发现根际微生物定殖机制迈出的重要一步。
