J Integr Plant Biol. ›› 2021, Vol. 63 ›› Issue (12): 2020-2030.DOI: 10.1111/jipb.13181

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Effective methods for isolation and purification of extracellular vesicles from plants

Yifan Huang1,2, Shumei Wang3, Qiang Cai1,2* and Hailing Jin3*   

  1. 1 State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, College of Life Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
    2 Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan 430072, China
    3 Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology and Center for Plant Cell Biology, Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92507, USA

    Correspondences: Qiang Cai (qiang.cai@whu.edu.cn); Hailing Jin (hailingj@ucr.edu). Both Drs. Cai and Jin are responsible for the distribution of the materials associated with this article
  • Received:2021-08-14 Accepted:2021-10-18 Online:2021-10-20 Published:2021-12-01

Abstract: Plant extracellular vesicles (EVs) play critical roles in the cross-kingdom trafficking of molecules from hosts to interacting microbes, most notably in plant defense responses. However, the isolation of pure, intact EVs from plants remains challenging. A variety of methods have been utilized to isolate plant EVs from apoplastic washing fluid (AWF). Here, we compare published plant EV isolation methods, and provide our recommended method for the isolation and purification of plant EVs. This method includes a detailed protocol for clean AWF collection from Arabidopsis thaliana leaves, followed by EV isolation via differential centrifugation. To further separate and purify specific subclasses of EVs from heterogeneous vesicle populations, density gradient ultracentrifugation and immunoaffinity capture are then utilized. We found that immunoaffinity capture is the most precise method for specific EV subclass isolation when suitable specific EV biomarkers and their corresponding antibodies are available. Overall, this study provides a guide for the selection and optimization of EV isolation methods for desired downstream applications.

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