New biosensor visualizes stress in living plant cells in real time

Plant biologists have developed a new nanosensor that monitors foundational mechanisms related to stress and drought. The new biosensor allows researchers to analyze changes in real time as they happen involving kinases, enzymes that catalyze key biological activities in proteins. Certain kinases are essential since they are known to be activated in response to drought conditions, triggering the protective closure of small pores on leaf surfaces known as stoma.