Raman imaging allows researchers to see plants ‘drink’ water

The advance by a team at Nottingham University is the first of its kind in the world and could help to identify future drought- and flood-resistant crops.

The inability to monitor water uptake inside roots - without damaging the specimen - has been a key stumbling block for researchers seeking to understand the motion of fluids in living plant cells and tissues.

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In a statement, study lead Dr Kevin Webb from the Optics and Photonics Research Group, said: “To observe water uptake in living plants without damaging them, we have applied a sensitive, laser-based, optical microscopy technique to see water movement inside living roots non-invasively, which has never been done before.

“Fundamentally, the process by which plants are able to thrive and become productive crops is based on how well it can take up water and how well it can manage that process. Water plays an essential role as a solvent for nutrients, minerals and other biomolecules in plant tissues. We’ve developed a way to allow ourselves to watch that process at the level of single cells. We can not only see the water going up inside the root, but also where and how it travels around.”