FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPY OF LIVING PLANT-CELLS

Since its inception, light microscopy has shown the elegance and subtl ety with which function is expressed in the form of the cells, tissues , and organs of the plant. Recently, light microscopy has seen a resur gence in use fueled by advances in microscope design and computer-base d image analysis. The structural resolution afforded by static, fixed samples is being increasingly supplemented by approaches using fluores cent analogs and selective fluorescent indicators, which visualize the dynamic processes in Living, functioning cells. This review describes some of these approaches and discusses how they are taking us a step closer to viewing the intricate complexity with which plants organize and regulate their functions down to the subcellular level.