Hair’s breadth

Coloured root hairs of Japanese bird’s-foot trefoil

How can we make the invisible visible in research? With colour! In this experiment, we look at the root hairs of Japanese trefoil (Lotus japonicus). The model plant helps us to better analyse interactions with bacteria in root nodule symbiosis.

Here, root hairs of the plants were genetically manipulated in such way, that they produce a reporter enzyme called β-Glucuronidase. Reporter enzymes serve to amplify signals and visualise molecular processes. By adding a specific substrate to the plant, the enzyme converts the substrate to a blue pigment.