Resolving subcellular sucrose concentrations in plant tissues

Sucrose is the central unit of carbon and energy in plants. As the product of photosynthesis, it is transported from source to sink tissues across short and long distances. Subcellular sucrose concentrations strongly influence rates of transport within cells, tissues and organs. Moreover, as a central metabolite, its concentration influences the rates of many enzymatic reactions. Measuring sucrose concentration with subcellular resolution remains challenging, especially for the cytosol, which hosts many critical enzymatic reactions and, in many cells, occupies only a thin layer between the vacuole and the plasma membrane. Here, we review the methods that have been utilized to measure subcellular sucrose concentrations in plant cells. The approaches covered include microautoradiography, non-aqueous fractionation, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy, Raman microspectroscopy, mass spectrometry imaging, FRET nanosensors, direct sampling, and theoretical modeling. We provide perspectives on the use cases for these methods and discuss developments towards resolving subcellular sugar concentrations in live tissues.