Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Ecological And Agricultural Applications Of Synchrotron Ir Microscopy, Ted K. Raab, John P. Vogel

Ted K. Raab

The diffraction-limited spot size of synchrotron-based IR microscopes provides cell-specific, spectrochemical imaging of cleared leaf, stem and root tissues of the model genetic organism Arabidopsis thaliana, and mutant plants created either by T-DNA insertional inactivation or chemical mutagenesis. Spectra in the wavelength region from 6 to 12 microns provide chemical and physical information on the cell wall polysaccharides of mutants lacking particular biosynthetic enzymes (‘‘Cellulose synthase-like’’ genes). In parallel experiments, synchrotron IR microscopy delineates the role of Arabidopsis cell wall enzymes as susceptibility factors to the fungus Erysiphe cichoracearum, a causative agent of powdery mildew disease. Three genes, pmr4, pmr5, …