Flip-Flap: A Simple Dual-View Imaging Method for 3D Reconstruction of Thick Plant Samples

Abstract

Plant development is a complex process that relies on molecular and cellular events being co-ordinated in space and time. Microscopy is one of the most powerful tools available to investigate this spatiotemporal complexity. One step towards a better understanding of complexity in plants would be the acquisition of 3D images of entire organs. However, 3D imaging of intact plant samples is not always simple and often requires expensive and/or non-trivial approaches. In particular, the inner tissues of thick samples are challenging to image. Here, we present the Flip-Flap method, a simple imaging protocol to produce 3D images of cleared plant samples at the organ scale. This method allows full 3D reconstruction of plant organs suitable for 3D segmentation and further related analysis and can be easily handled by relatively inexperienced microscopists.