Tissue culture systems can be powerful tools for studying the process of cell differentiation in detail. Although a large number of cultures for xylem differentiation have been developed and utilized, there are only few reports on culture systems for ectopic phloem differentiation. Recently, a novel tissue culture system named Vascular cell Induction culture System Using Arabidopsis Leaves (VISUAL) was established, in which both xylem and phloem cells can be rapidly and efficiently induced in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. This chapter discusses the principle of VISUAL and how it can be used to investigate phloem differentiation, for example in combination with genetic experiments or transcriptome analysis. In addition, the protocol for establishing a phloem cell culture is provided.
Keywords: Arabidopsis; Cell differentiation; Phloem; Sieve element; Tissue culture; Transcriptome analysis.