Abstract
Detection of gene expression in plants is critical for understanding the molecular basis of complex plant biosystems and plant responses to environmental stresses. Here, we report the development of a split ribozyme-based biosensor that enables in vivo visualization of gene expression in plants. We demonstrated the utility of this biosensor in transient expression experiments (i.e., leaf infiltration in Nicotiana benthamiana) to detect RNAs derived from transgenes and tobacco rattle virus, respectively. Furthermore, we successfully engineered a split ribozyme-based biosensor in Arabidopsis thaliana for in vivo visualization of endogenous gene expression at the cellular level. In addition, we developed a platform for easy incorporation of different reporters into the RNA biosensor.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Footnotes
Notice: This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan).
