Near-Infrared Fluorescent Carbon Nanotube Sensors for the Plant Hormone Family Gibberellins

Abstract

Gibberellins (GAs) are a class of phytohormones, important for plant growth, and very difficult to distinguish because of their similarity in chemical structures. Herein, we develop the first nanosensors for GAs by designing and engineering polymer-wrapped single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with unique corona phases that selectively bind to bioactive GAs, GA 3 and GA 4 , triggering near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence intensity changes. Using a new coupled Raman/NIR fluorimeter that enables self-referencing of nanosensor NIR fluorescence with its Raman G-band, we demonstrated detection of cellular GA in Arabidopsis, lettuce, and basil roots. The nanosensors reported increased endogenous GA levels in transgenic Arabidopsis mutants that overexpress GA and in emerging lateral roots. Our approach allows rapid spatiotemporal detection of GA across species. The reversible sensor captured the decreasing GA levels in salt-treated lettuce roots, which correlated remarkably with fresh weight changes. This work demonstrates the potential for nanosensors to solve longstanding problems in plant biotechnology.

Plant phenotyping relevance

植物ホルモン濃度という植物の生理状態を、開発したナノセンサーとNIR測定系で検出する手法が研究の中心であり、植物内での適用実証も行っている。

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