Licensing Opportunity: A Biosensor for Detecting Plant Gene Expression

Invention Reference Number: 202405625 Detection of gene expression in plants is critical for understanding the molecular basis of plant physiology and plant responses to drought, stress, climate change, microbes, insects and other factors. Current technologies for RNA analysis all require destructive, labor-intensive, and time-consuming measurements.

This biosensor is a transformative method for in-vivo detection of RNAs in plants that does not destroy the sample and enables the design of plant-based biosensors for monitoring plant response’s stressors that can be seen by the naked eye or with a microscope. Description Existing technologies for detecting gene expression in plants include reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, in situ hybridization, and transcriptome-sequencing.

These technologies require destructive sampling and tedious experimental procedures which are expensive, labor-intensive, time-consuming, and technically demanding. This technology, called “Plant RNA Vision,” provides in-vivo detection of RNAs in plants. It converts gene expression in plant systems to a reasonable marker that can be directly observed.

More specifically, it translates the RNA abundance into a fluorescence readout that can be detected by using a fluorescence microscope/stereoscope, or by naked eyes under a UV flashlight. It is the only technology that allows RNA detection in real time with the eye, and it saves time and money. The technology has broad applications in plant biology, plant biotechnology, plant breeding, molecular physiology, and environmental biology.

Benefits Cost-effective detection of gene expression in plants without destructive sampling Quick validation of spatial gene expression Real-time tracking of changes in gene expression in plants Enables design of plant-based biosensors for monitoring plant responses to stressors and environmental conditions Detects transgene expression in genetically modified plants Can be integrated with high-throughput plant phenotyping facility to link molecular phenotypes with physiological and morphological phenotypes.

Applications and Industries Agriculture, horticulture, forestry Biotechnology industry Gene sequencing companies Any single cell industry Academic research Plant biology, breeding, and biosafety Customs and Border Protection Contact To learn more about this technology, email partnerships@ornl.gov or call 865-574-1051.