Pointe racinaire d'arabette des dames vue en microscopie confocale

Montage of confocal microscopy images showing a root tip of thale cress, Arabidopsis thaliana, whose cell membranes are marked by a red fluorescent dye. Each cell line is established under the influence of auxin, a hormone that acts like the conductor of an orchestra in terms of root development, determining the position and rate of growth of new roots. These lines are revealed by the expression of a fluorescent protein of a different colour in each root tissue: lateral calyptra and cortex (magenta and green), columella and protoxylem (cyan), epidermis and protophloem (blue), endoderm (yellow), quiescent centre (orange). These markers are used to study root development and its response to environmental changes.