Application of YO-PRO-1 as an Epifluorescent Dye for in situ Detection of Small Amount DNA in Plant Cells

i.e. plastid and mitochondrial DNA in the plant cells such as the sperm cell of Jasminum nudiflorum , the generative cell of Pharbitis lim-bata , the cultured cell of Nicotiana tabacum and the root cell of Vicia faba with epifluorescence microscopy and laser confocal microscopy using YO-PRO-1 as a fluorescent dye. The excitation for YO-PRO-1 was blue light in epifluorescence microscopy and 488 nm Kr/Ar ion laser in confocal microscopy. Dimorphic epifluorescent spots that corresponded plastid DNA and mitochondrial DNA were distinctly detected in the cells of each species examined. In this report, we introduce YO-PRO-1 as a new epifluorescent dye for successful in situ detection of small amount DNA in plant live cells and cell sections with perticular emphasis on the importance of sample preparation.