TY  - JOUR
TI  - Quantitative Assessment of Heat Shock-Induced Ferroptosis-Like Cell Death via Electrolyte Leakage in Arabidopsis thaliana Seedlings
AU  - Kago-Gachao, Leah 
AU  - Salas, Clara Cappa
AU  - Campos, Myriam Sanchis
AU  - Whitmore, Grace 
AU  - Sueldo, Daniela 
VL  - 16
IS  - 9
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/05
SP  - e5650
C1  - Bio-protocol 2026;16:e5650
DO  - 10.21769/BioProtoc.5650
UR  - https://doi.org/10.21769/BioProtoc.5650
AB  - We present a protocol to allow continuous assessment of cell death in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) seedlings by measuring the release of electrolytes from dying cells upon heat shock. The electrolyte leakage assay is a well-established method to quantify the extent of cell death of plant tissues exposed to pathogen infection, since the activation of the immune response leads to compromised membrane integrity and to the release of ions from the dying cell. This prolonged release of electrolytes is considered a hallmark of regulated cell death in plants. Heat shock in plants induces ferroptosis-like cell death, which can be suppressed either pharmacologically, using inhibitors such as ferrostatin, or genetically through knockout of ferroptosis-related genes. Here, we have adapted the electrolyte leakage assay to quantify cell death in young Arabidopsis seedlings exposed to a heat shock previously shown to induce ferroptosis-like cell death. We also illustrate how this method can be used to assess activation of ferroptosis-like cell death in whole Arabidopsis seedlings using ferrostatin or knockout mutants of potential gene candidates involved in ferroptosis-like cell death.
KW  - Heat shock
KW  - Ferroptosis-like cell death
KW  - Electrolyte leakage
KW  - Arabidopsis
KW  - Regulated cell death
KW  - Ferrostatin
KW  - Conductivity meter
JF  - Bio-protocol
SN  - 2331-8325
PB  - Bio-protocol LLC.
BIO101  - False