Biosensors monitor plant health in real time

Researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, have developed biosensors that make it possible to monitor sugar levels in real time deep in plant extracts – something that was previously impossible. The information from the senses may help agriculture to change production as the world faces climate change. The results were published in the scientific journal iScience.

Plants are the main source of nutrients for most of the Earth’s population, which are also the foundation of the entire ecosystem on which we all depend. The world’s population is rising, and rapid climate change is simultaneously changing the conditions for crop cultivation and agriculture.

“We need to secure our food supply for decades to come. And we have to do this using the same resources, or even fewer, as today. That’s why it’s important to understand how plants adapt to and adapt to the environment, “says Eleni Stavrinidou, associate professor in a laboratory of electronic electricity, Department of Science and Technology. at Linköping University.

The research group at Linköping University led by Eleni Stavrinidou, together with Totte Niittylä and his group from the Umeå Plant Science Center, has developed sugar sensors based on organic electrochemical transistors that can be incorporated into plants. The biosensors can monitor tree sugar levels in real time, continuously for up to two days. The information from the sensors can be related to growth and other biological processes. Plants use sugars for energy, and sugars are also important signaling substances that affect the development of the plant and its response to changes in the surrounding environment.

Although biosensors for monitoring sugar levels in humans are widely available, especially the glucometer used by people with diabetes, this technology has not been applied in plants before. .

“The sensors are now used for basic plant science study but in the future they can be used in agriculture to increase the growing conditions or to monitor the quality of the product, for example. In the long run, The sensors can also be used to control the production of new varieties of plants that can grow in less favorable conditions ”, says Eleni Stavrinidou.

It is not yet known how plant metabolism is regulated and how changes in sugar levels affect growth. Previous experiments have usually used methods that rely on the separation of parts of the plant. However, the sensor developed by the research group provides information without harming the plant and may provide further pieces of the puzzle on how plant metabolism works.

“We found an unprecedented difference in sugar levels in the trees. Future studies will focus on understanding how plant sugar levels change when plants are under stress,” he said. Eleni Stavrinidou.

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The research is largely funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. Additional funding comes from: Wallenberg Forest Science Center, Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, Swedish Research Council, and Swedish Strategic Research Area in New Action Materials (AFM) at Linköping University.

The article: “Diurnal in Vivo Xylem Sap Glucose and Sucrose Study Using Implantable Organic Electrochemical Transistor Sensors” Chiara Diacci, Tayebeh Abedi, Jeewoong Lee, Erik O. Gabrielsson, Magnus Berggren, Daniel T. Simon, Totte Niittvylä, Eleni iScience 2020 doi: 10.1016 / j.isci.2020.101966

Note: The plants used in the experiments are hybrid aspen, Populus tremula.