Direct writing of microheater for studying plant thermal biology

Abstract

Microheaters have drawn extensive attention for their substantial applications in thermotherapy, gas sensors, thin film preparation, biological research, etc. In plant physiology, uncovering the mechanisms by which plants sense and respond to environmental temperature fluctuations will help us better understand the impact of climate change on crop yield and ecosystem resilience. Currently, microheaters with long-term heating capability have rarely been applied to investigate plant thermal responses. In this study, we applied a direct writing technique to fabricate microheaters suitable for studying plant thermal biology with silver conductive ink. The optimal printing conditions and the heating performance (e.g., stability, durability, reusability) of the printed heaters were thoroughly characterized. The printed microheaters can provide stable and constant heating to plant organs for over four days. When placed near plant leaves to create localized heating, the microheater could successfully activate the expression of a thermoresponsive marker gene in plants. These results demonstrate the potential of applying printed microheaters to study plant thermal biology at the organ and tissue level.