FK
Frances Kittrell
  • Department of Cell Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, USA
Research fields
  • Cancer biology
Detection of Nitric Oxide and Determination of Nitrite Concentrations in Arabidopsis thaliana and Azospirilum brasilense
There is now general agreement that nitric oxide (NO) is an important and almost ubiquitous signal in plants. Nevertheless, there are still many controversial observations and differing opinions on the importance and functions of NO in plants. Partly, this may be due to the difficulties in detecting and quantifying NO. Here, we summarize protocols for detecting NO and quantifying nitrite concentration in Arabidopsis seedlings. We also present a method to measure NO in biofilms formed by the plant growth promoting rhizobacteria Azospirillum brasilense (A. brasilense). NO in oxygen-containing aqueous solutions has a short half-life that is often attributed to a rapid oxidation to nitrite. Here we detail the use of the fluorescent probe DAF-FM DA and the electrochemical method for directly detecting and quantifying NO, respectively, and the Griess reagent to indirectly detect NO through its oxidized nitrite form. These protocols could be useful in a variety of cell types and plant tissues, as well as for microorganisms.
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