Electrical impedance tomography as a tool for phenotyping plant roots

Plant Methods

Sarah Sommer¹  Stephen A. Rolfe¹  Frank Podd²  Diego D. J. Corona-Lopez³  Bruce D. Grieve³ 

[1] 0000 0004 1936 9262, grid.11835.3e, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, S10 2TN, Sheffield, UK;0000000121662407, grid.5379.8, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13 9PL, Manchester, UK;0000000121662407, grid.5379.8, e-Agri Sensors Centre, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13 9PL, Manchester, UK;

关键词: Root development;    Plant pathogen detection;    Electrical impedance tomography;    Plasmodiophora brassicae;    Brassica napus;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13007-019-0438-4

来源: publisher

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundPlant roots are complex, three-dimensional structures that play a central role in anchorage, water and nutrient acquisition, storage and interaction with rhizosphere microbes. Studying the development of the plant root system architecture is inherently difficult as soil is not a transparent medium.ResultsThis study uses electrical impedance tomography (EIT) to visualise oilseed rape root development in horticultural compost. The development of healthy, control plants and those infected with the gall-forming pathogen, Plasmodiophora brassicae—the causative agent of clubroot disease—were compared. EIT measurements were used to quantify the development of the root system and distinguish between control and infected plants at the onset of gall formation, approximately 20 days after inoculation. Although clear and stark differences between healthy and infected plants were obtained by careful (and hence laborious) packing of the growth medium in layers within the pots; clubroot identification is still possible without a laborious vessel filling protocol.ConclusionsThese results demonstrate the utility of EIT as a low-cost, non-invasive, non-destructive method for characterising root system architecture and plant-pathogen interactions in opaque growth media. As such it offers advantages over other root characterisation techniques and has the potential to act as a low-cost tool for plant phenotyping.

【 授权许可】

CC BY