New 3-D imaging techniques may improve understanding of biofuel plant material

Imaging of cryo-immobolized plant tissue reveals never-seen-before details of plant cell walls

2014-09-10

(Press-News.org) Comparison of 3D TEM imaging techniques reveals never-seen-before details of plant cell walls, according to a study published September 10, 2014 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Purbasha Sarkar from University of California, Berkeley and colleagues.

Cost-effective production of plant material for biofuel requires efficient breakdown of plant cell wall tissue to retrieve the complex sugars in the cell wall required for fermentation and production of biofuels. In-depth knowledge of plant cell wall composition is therefore essential for improving the fuel production process. The precise spatial three-dimensional organization of certain plant structures, including cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, and lignin, within plant cell walls remains unclear, due to the limited to 2D, topographic or low-resolution imaging currently used by researchers, as well as other factors. In an attempt to compare the quality of 3D TEM imaging techniques of the cell wall structure in plant stem tissue, the authors of this study compared three different sample preparation methods for imaging: conventional microwave-assisted chemical fixation and embedding followed by imaging at room temperature; high-pressure freezing, freeze substitution (HPF-FS) followed by room temperature embedding and imaging; and cryo-immobilization of fresh tissue by self-pressurized rapid freezing, cryo-sectioning, and cryo-tomography- a type of electron microscopy run at very low temperatures that yields near-native 3D reconstructions.

Qualitative and quantitative analyses showed that plant ultrastructure and wall organization of cryo-immobilized samples were preserved remarkably better than conventionally prepared samples. However, due to the highly challenging techniques associated with cryo-tomography, large-scale quantitative analyses are better performed on HPF-FS samples.

Manfred Auer added: "We have developed and compared novel sample preparation and molecular 3D imaging approaches for plant cell walls, yielding insight into faithfully preserved 3D wall architecture, which will lead to rational re-engineering of second-generation lignocellulosic biofuel crops."

INFORMATION: In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper: http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0106928

Citation Sarkar P, Bosneaga E, Yap EG Jr, Das J, Tsai W-T, et al. (2014) Electron Tomography of Cryo-Immobilized Plant Tissue: A Novel Approach to Studying 3D Macromolecular Architecture of Mature Plant Cell Walls In Situ. PLoS ONE 9(9): e106928. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0106928

Funding This work was primarily funded by the Energy Biosciences Institute, grant number 007G18 (MA). The LBNL electron microscopes used in this study were supported by National Institutes of Health; grant number P01-GM051487-15 (KHD, MA). The automated segmentation done at UT Austin was supported by National Institutes of Health; grant R01-EB004873 (CB). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interests The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

New 3-D imaging techniques may improve understanding of biofuel plant material 2

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New study examines impact of violent media on the brain

2014-09-10

(NEW YORK – September 10, 2014) With the longstanding debate over whether violent movies cause real world violence as a backstop, a study published today in PLOS One found that each person's reaction to violent images depends on that individual's brain circuitry, and on how aggressive they were to begin with. The study, which was led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the NIH Intramural Program, featured brain scans which revealed that both watching and not watching violent images caused different brain activity in people with different ...

Study ties groundwater to human evolution

2014-09-10

Our ancient ancestors' ability to move around and find new sources of groundwater during extremely dry periods in Africa millions of years ago may have been key to their survival and the evolution of the human species, a new study shows. The research – published in the journal PLOS ONE – combines geological evidence from the Olduvai sedimentary basin in Northern Tanzania, which formed about 2.2 million years ago, and results from a hydrological model. It shows that while water in rivers and lakes would have disappeared as the climate changed due to variations in the ...

Is spooning really the best position for men with back pain?

2014-09-10

September 10, 2014 – A study using motion capture technology provides new information on the spinal strain produced by various sexual positions—suggesting that one position commonly recommended for all men with low back pain is not actually the best choice, reports a study in the journal Spine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. The results provide a more scientific basis for making individualized recommendations regarding sexual positions for men with low back pain, according to Natalie Sidorkewicz, MSc, and Stuart ...

Seismic gap may be filled by an earthquake near Istanbul

2014-09-10

When a segment of a major fault line goes quiet, it can mean one of two things: The "seismic gap" may simply be inactive — the result of two tectonic plates placidly gliding past each other — or the segment may be a source of potential earthquakes, quietly building tension over decades until an inevitable seismic release. Researchers from MIT and Turkey have found evidence for both types of behavior on different segments of the North Anatolian Fault — one of the most energetic earthquake zones in the world. The fault, similar in scale to California's San Andreas Fault, ...

Gibbon genome sequence deepens understanding of primates rapid chromosomal rearrangements

2014-09-10

HOUSTON – (Sep. 10. 2014) – With the completion of the sequencing and analysis of the gibbon genome, scientists now know more about why this small ape has a rapid rate of chromosomal rearrangements, providing information that broadens understanding of chromosomal biology. Chromosomes, essentially the packaging that encases the genetic information stored in the DNA sequence, are fundamental to cellular function and the transmission of genetic information from one generation to the next. Chromosome structure and function is also intimately related to human genetic diseases, ...

Mysterious quasar sequence explained

2014-09-10

Pasadena, CA—Quasars are supermassive black holes that live at the center of distant massive galaxies. They shine as the most luminous beacons in the sky across the entire electromagnetic spectrum by rapidly accreting matter into their gravitationally inescapable centers. New work from Carnegie's Hubble Fellow Yue Shen and Luis Ho of the Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics (KIAA) at Peking University solves a quasar mystery that astronomers have been puzzling over for 20 years. Their work, published in the September 11 issue of Nature, shows that most observed ...

Researchers discover 3 extinct squirrel-like species

2014-09-10

Paleontologists have described three new small squirrel-like species that place a poorly understood Mesozoic group of animals firmly in the mammal family tree. The study, led by scientists at the American Museum of Natural History and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, supports the idea that mammals—an extremely diverse group that includes egg-laying monotremes such as the platypus, marsupials such as the opossum, and placentals like humans and whales—originated at least 208 million years ago in the late Triassic, much earlier than some previous research suggests. The study ...

Fish and fatty acid consumption associated with lower risk of hearing loss in women

2014-09-10

BOSTON, MA – Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital found that consumption of two or more servings of fish per week was associated with a lower risk of hearing loss in women. Findings of the new study Fish and Fatty Acid Consumption and Hearing Loss study led by Sharon G. Curhan, MD, BWH Channing Division of Network Medicine, are published online on September 10 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN). "Acquired hearing loss is a highly prevalent and often disabling chronic health condition," stated Curhan, corresponding author. "Although a decline ...

Research identifies drivers of rich bird biodiversity in Neotropics

2014-09-10

An international team of researchers is challenging a commonly held view that explains how so many species of birds came to inhabit the Neotropics, an area rich in rain forest that extends from Mexico to the southernmost tip of South America. The new research, published today in the journal Nature, suggests that tropical bird speciation is not directly linked to geological and climate changes, as traditionally thought, but is driven by movements of birds across physical barriers such as mountains and rivers that occur long after those landscapes' geological origins. "The ...

UT Arlington research uses nanotechnology to help cool electrons with no external sources

2014-09-10

A team of researchers has discovered a way to cool electrons to −228 °C without external means and at room temperature, an advancement that could enable electronic devices to function with very little energy. The process involves passing electrons through a quantum well to cool them and keep them from heating. The team details its research in "Energy-filtered cold electron transport at room temperature," which is published in Nature Communications on Wednesday, Sept. 10. "We are the first to effectively cool electrons at room temperature. Researchers have done ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Early diagnosis of bladder cancer, now conveniently at home

People who are autistic and transgender/gender diverse have poorer health and health care

Gene classifier tests for prostate cancer may influence treatment decisions despite lack of evidence for long-term outcomes

Association of waist circumference with all-cause and cardiovascular mortalities in diabetes from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003–2018