Quantum Dots Research Leads to New Knowledge about Protein Binding in Plants

January 26, 2005

UC Riverside researchers from the Departments of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Botany and Plant Sciences have worked together to discover a way to utilize Quantum Dot bio-conjugates to uncover new knowledge about the binding of a protein at the growing pollen tube tip. This protein plays a critical role along with another protein (chemocyanin) in guiding sperm-laden pollen tubes to the eggs found in ovules.

Applying nanoparticles for imaging the protein localization revealed information that could not be observed previously by conventional imaging techniques. This study provides a new tool to botanical scientists by merging areas of materials science, chemistry and plant biology.

The findings are the result of an interdisciplinary research team including Sathyajith Ravindran of the Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department; Sunran Kim, Rebecca Martin and Elizabeth M. Lord of the Botany and Plant Sciences Department; and Cengiz S. Ozkan of the Mechanical Engineering Department at UC-Riverside.

The results of their collaborative research appeared in an article titled “Quantum Dots as Bio-labels for the Localization of a Small Plant Adhesion Protein” and published in the January 2005 issue of Nanotechnology, and is a featured article at http://nanotechweb.org. Journal Nanotechnology has an international readership among academic, government and corporate sectors, and is dedicated to coverage of all aspects of nanoscale science and technology from a multidisciplinary perspective.

Ozkan and his colleagues utilized cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots coated with zinc sulphide as fluorescent probes. The particles had a diameter of 6.3 nm. The team terminated the quantum dots with carboxylic groups by reacting them with mercaptoacetic acid. Then they conjugated the quantum dots with the amine groups of stigma/stylar cysteine-rich adhesin (SCA) - a plant pollen tube adhesion protein. This labeled the protein molecules with fluorescent tags.

Quantum dots are much more resistant to photobleaching than conventional fluorescent markers and their small size make them ideal for biological imaging. The researchers then added the molecules to germinated lily pollen grains and examined them under a confocal microscope.

This is the very first time that Quantum Dots have been utilized for live imaging in plant systems. The study opens the door for the potential use of Quantum Dots in live imaging of plant cells and provides valuable understanding of the mechanism of interaction between the pollen tube and female tissue during reproduction.

“Integrating materials science, chemistry and plant biology to understand how and where specific proteins act on a pollen tube is one more step towards a better understanding of the fundamental processes involved, namely the network of the signaling process in plant reproduction,” said Ozkan. "A better understanding of the interaction of SCA with pollen tubes could help with successful plant breeding”.

Source: University of California, Riverside


Rank not rated yet
Tags

Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

New kind of solar cell could capture significantly more energy than current cells

New solar cells could increase the maximum efficiency of solar panels by over 25%, according to scientists from the University of Cambridge.

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Feb 08, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (12) | comments 14 | with audio podcast

Nanoshell whispering galleries improve thin solar panels

Visitors to Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol Building may have experienced a curious acoustic feature that allows a person to whisper softly at one side of the cavernous, half-domed room and for another on ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Feb 07, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (6) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

'Dark plasmons' transmit energy

Microscopic channels of gold nanoparticles have the ability to transmit electromagnetic energy that starts as light and propagates via "dark plasmons," according to researchers at Rice University.

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Feb 09, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (9) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Revealing how a battery material works

Since its discovery 15 years ago, lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) has become one of the most promising materials for rechargeable batteries because of its stability, durability, safety and ability to deliver ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Feb 08, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

What lies beneath: Mapping hidden nanostructures

The ability to diagnose and predict the properties of materials is vital, particularly in the expanding field of nanotechnology. Electron and atom-probe microscopy can categorize atoms in thin sheets of material, ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Feb 10, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1


Walney offshore wind farm is world's biggest (for now)

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Walney wind farm on the Irish Sea--characterized by high tides, waves and windy weather--officially opened this week. The farm is treated in the press as a very big deal as the Walney ...

GPS court ruling leaves US phone tracking unclear

A US Supreme Court decision requiring a warrant to place a GPS device on the car of a criminal suspect leaves unresolved the bigger issue of police tracking using mobile phones, legal experts say.

Study finds that anti-diabetic medication can prevent the long-term effects of maternal obesity

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report findings that show that short therapy with the anti-diabetic medication ...

Europe stakes billion-dollar bet on new rocket

A pencil-slim rocket is scheduled to lift into space from South America on Monday, carrying a billion-dollar bet that Europe can grab a juicy slice of the market to place satellites in low orbit.

Netflix settlement trims 14 pct off 4Q earnings

(AP) -- Netflix pressed the rewind button on its fourth-quarter earnings after settling allegations that the video subscription service violated a consumer-privacy law.

Anonymous briefly knocks CIA website offline (Update 2)

The website of the Central Intelligence Agency was briefly inaccessible on Friday after the hacker group Anonymous claimed to have knocked it offline.