Performance and Limitations of Phosphate Quantification: Guidelines for Plant Biologists

Phosphate (Pi) is a macronutrient that is essential for plant life. Several regulatory components involved in Pi homeostasis have been identified, revealing a very high complexity at the cellular and subcellular levels. Determining the Pi content in plants is crucial to understanding this regulation, and short real-time (33)Pi uptake imaging experiments have shown Pi movement to be highly dynamic. Furthermore, gene modulation by Pi is finely controlled by localization of this ion at the tissue as well as the cellular and subcellular levels. Deciphering these regulations requires access to and quantification of the Pi pool in the various plant compartments. This review presents the different techniques available to measure, visualize and trace Pi in plants, with a discussion of the future prospects.