AUTHOR=Martinière Alexandre , Desbrosses Guilhem , Sentenac Hervé , Paris Nadine TITLE=Development and properties of genetically encoded pH sensors in plants JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science VOLUME=4 YEAR=2013 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2013.00523 DOI=10.3389/fpls.2013.00523 ISSN=1664-462X ABSTRACT=

Fluorescent proteins (FPs) have given access to a large choice of live imaging techniques and have thereby profoundly modified our view of plant cells. Together with technological improvements in imaging, they have opened the possibility to monitor physico-chemical changes within cells. For this purpose, a new generation of FPs has been engineered. For instance, pHluorin, a point mutated version of green fluorescent protein, allows to get local pH estimates. In this paper, we will describe how genetically encoded sensors can be used to measure pH in the microenvironment of living tissues and subsequently discuss the role of pH in (i) exocytosis, (ii) ion uptake by plant roots, (iii) cell growth, and (iv) protein trafficking.