Watching Biochemistry Live

Revolutionary new technologies, namely in the areas of DNA sequencing and imaging, continue to impact new discoveries in plant science and beyond. For decades we have been able to determine properties of enzymes and transporters in vitro or in heterologous systems, analyze their regulation at the transcriptional level, use GFP reporters to obtain insights into cellular and sub-cellular localization, and measure ion and metabolite levels with unprecedented precision using mass spectrometry. However, we lack key information on location and dynamics of the substrates of the enzymes and transporters, and on the regulation of the proteins in their cellular environment. Such information can now be obtained by transitioning from in vitro to in vivo biochemistry using biosensors. Genetically encoded fluorescent protein-based sensors for ion, metabolite and hormone dynamics provide highly resolved spatial and temporal information, and are complemented by sensors for pH, redox, voltage, redox, and tension. Most recently we developed sensors that monitor the activity of transporters in vivo. They serve as powerful tools for identifying missing processes and components and signaling networks. Combined with the knowledge of properties of enzymes and transporters and their interaction biosensors promise to be key diagnostic tools for systems and synthetic biology.