Flow cytometry and fluorescence-activated cell sorting in plants: the past, present, and future

Introduction: Flow cytometry and cell sorting are powerful technologies for examining the molecular, genetic, and physiological properties of individual cells.Objective: The objective of this article is to provide a historical survey of the development of flow cytometry and cell sorting for use with higher plants, a summary of the state of art at the present day, and a prediction of where the field might progress over the coming years.Methods: Adapting flow cytometry and sorting for use with higher plants requires the production of single cell suspensions, or suspensions of subcellular organelles. It also requires identification of methods for fluorescence labeling of the cells or organelles of interest, such that they can be usefully analyzed and sorting. These methods are identified and outlined.Results and conclusions: Recent advances in molecular and biotechnological methods, platforms, and instrumentation, combined with flow cytometry and sorting, provide increasingly powerful analytical tools for exploring the components and structure of regulatory networks governing plant growth and development, and the interactions of plants with their environments. They also will be invaluable in cataloguing the individual species that comprise the biological diversity of flowering plants