HypoxyLab cited in ground-breaking plant research
First evidence that HNO is formed endogenously in living plant cells
The phenomenon of hypoxia in living cells is not restricted to the animal kingdom; it can also occur in plant tissues and plant organs.
A recent publication in Nature Plants (below) has described the use of our HypoxyLab benchtop workstation in a study that provides the first experimental evidence that HNO (Nitroxyl) is formed endogenously in living plant cells, with significant implications for the field of plant cell signalling and plant cell NO biology.
The group made use of an advanced electrochemical microsensor design to measure HNO/NO in Arabidopsis thaliana leaves under a number of test conditions, including hypoxia.
By generating a hypoxic environment the HypoxyLab was used to induce oxidative stress and reductive conditions, to support the hypothesis that cellular redox status is a decisive factor for HNO kinetics.
The team involved found that, “Hypoxia encouraged a significant (~25%) increase in HNO formation mainly during the first 24 h. One day after the stress was removed, HNO decreased sharply. These results indicate that a switch in nitroxyl kinetics toward HNO formation is an early reductive stress-related response in plant cells.”
As the HypoxyLab allows full user control over environmental oxygen, CO2, temperature, and humidity it provides an excellent platform to study hypoxia (or 'physoxia') in plant and animal cells alike. If your team would like to study plant cell physiology or even grow whole plants under controlled oxygen conditions, do reach out to us to see what possibilities may exist.
The Nature Plants article referred to above:
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