Sensors for the quantification, localization and analysis of the dynamics of plant hormones

Abstract

Summary Plant hormones play important roles in plant growth and development and physiology, and in acclimation to environmental changes. The hormone signaling networks are highly complex and interconnected. It is thus important to not only know where the hormones are produced, how they are transported and how and where they are perceived, but also to monitor their distribution quantitatively, ideally in a non‐invasive manner. Here we summarize the diverse set of tools available for quantifying and visualizing hormone distribution and dynamics. We provide an overview over the tools that are currently available, including transcriptional reporters, degradation sensors, and luciferase and fluorescent sensors, and compare the tools and their suitability for different purposes.

Biosensors: A Sneak Peek into Plant Cell’s Immunity

“…During the last ten years, several informative reviews covering the topic of plant biosensors have been published, showing the advances in this technology and its importance for the plant research community. They revise the type of available biosensors and the recent results obtained [ 1 ], the use of biosensors to monitor plant hormones [ 11 , 12 , 13 ], the principles of most widely used biosensors in plants [ 14 ] and quantitative measurements with biosensors [ 15 ]. Some reviews are focused on biosensors of a single analyte such as abscisic acid (ABA) [ 16 ], auxin [ 17 ], Ca 2+ [ 18 ], ethylene (ET) [ 10 ], gibberellins (GA) [ 19 ] and reactive oxygen species (ROS) [ 20 ].…”

“…This can be reached with a chimeric effector/detector module [ 148 ]. This often comes with lower constant of dissociation for the chosen analyte and can therefore interfere with the analyte’s availability for endogenous targets, which was the case in ABA sensors (reviewed in Isoda et al [ 13 ]). Potential slow release of the analyte from the binding pocket of direct biosensors must also be considered to avoid misinterpretations of temporal dimension of the analyte availability in vivo [ 67 ].…”

Biosensors: A Sneak Peek into Plant Cell’s Immunity

“…It can be reached with chimeric effector/detector module [147]. This often comes with lower constant of dissociation for the chosen analyte and can therefore interfere with analyte's availability for endogenous targets, which was the case in ABA sensors (reviewed in Isoda et al [12]). Potential slow release of the analyte from the binding pocket of direct biosensors must also be considered to avoid misinterpretations of temporal dimension of the analyte availability in vivo [67].…”

“…During the last ten years, several informative reviews covering the topic of plant biosensors have been published, showing the advances of this technology and its importance for the plant research community. They revise the type of available sensors and the recent results obtained with them [1], the use of sensors to monitor plant phytohormones [10][11][12], principles of most widely used biosensors in plants [13] and quantitative measurements with biosensors [14]. Some reviews are focused on biosensors of a single analyte such as abscisic acid (ABA) [15], auxin [16], Ca 2+ [17], ethylene (ET) [9], gibberellins (GA) [18] and reactive oxygen species (ROS) [19].…”

Plant hormone functions and interactions in biological systems

“…Elucidation of the spatiotemporal nature of the hormone network can be accomplished by using genetically engineered biosensors. Isoda et al (2020) describe the latest developments in this field, where biosensors are based on fluorescence of transcriptional reporters, degron‐based sensors, or receptor‐based sensors.…”