Laser microbeams for the manipulation of plant cells and subcellular structures

Laser microsurgery has been used in plants to study physiological, cell biological and genetical questions for over 10 years. More recently, the optical trap became available as an additional tool. Specific areas of research include membrane physiology, motility, transformation and protoplast fusion. Compared to the data reported in animal systems, the contributions of laser microbeam manipulations in plant biology are rather limited. However, with increased awareness of the enormous potential of the technology and better accessibility to less expensive and more user-friendly equipment, the next decade should be more productive.