Direct observation of root-elongation ofarabidopsis thalianaseedlings grown in hydroponic culture

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Abstract
Arabidopsis thaliana displays useful characteristics for studies on plant molecular biology, such as small genome size and the suitability for either tissue culture system or transformation (Schmidt and Willmitizer 1991). In addition, because a relatively large numbers of seedlings can be grown on solidified medium, a large number of mutants for the morphology of roots had been isolated (Okada and Shimura, 1990; Shiefelbein and Somerville 1990). Although root-nutrient interactions were investigated by using a gelled medium (Schiefelbein et al. 1992; Cao et al. 1993), problems such as contamination with nutrient traces and difficulty in maintaining the pH and concentration of nutrients during the experiment must be addressed (Conner and Meredith 1984). Hydroponic culture enables to maintain stable conditions in the medium. However, perhaps because of the difficulties involved in culturing, no apparatus has been constructed to monitor directly the root development of A. thaliana by using a water culture system.