Trabi Christophe L, Pereira Luciano, Guan Xinyi, Miranda Marcela T, Bittencourt Paulo R L, Oliveira Rafael S, Ribeiro Rafael V, Jansen Steven
Institute of Systematic Botany and Ecology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
Center R&D in Ecophysiology and Biophysics, Agronomic Institute (IAC), Campinas, Brazil.
Front Plant Sci. 2021 Jun 7;12:633595. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2021.633595. eCollection 2021.
The Pneumatron device measures gas diffusion kinetics in the xylem of plants. The device provides an easy, low-cost, and powerful tool for research on plant water relations and gas exchange. Here, we describe in detail how to construct and operate this device to estimate embolism resistance of angiosperm xylem, and how to analyse pneumatic data. Simple and more elaborated ways of constructing a Pneumatron are shown, either using wires, a breadboard, or a printed circuit board. The instrument is based on an open-source hardware and software system, which allows users to operate it in an automated or semi-automated way. A step-by-step manual and a troubleshooting section are provided. An excel spreadsheet and an R-script are also presented for fast and easy data analysis. This manual aims at helping users to avoid common mistakes, such as unstable measurements of the minimum and maximum amount of gas discharged from xylem tissue, which has major consequences for estimating embolism resistance. Major advantages of the Pneumatron device include its automated and accurate measurements of gas diffusion rates, including highly precise measurements of the gas volume in intact, embolised conduits. It is currently unclear if the method can also be applied to woody monocots, gymnosperm species that possess torus-margo pit membranes, or to herbaceous species.
气压计装置可测量植物木质部中的气体扩散动力学。该装置为植物水分关系和气体交换研究提供了一种简便、低成本且功能强大的工具。在此，我们详细描述如何构建和操作此装置以估计被子植物木质部的栓塞抗性，以及如何分析气压数据。展示了使用电线、面包板或印刷电路板构建气压计的简单和更精细的方法。该仪器基于开源硬件和软件系统，允许用户以自动化或半自动化方式操作它。提供了一份分步手册和一个故障排除部分。还给出了一个Excel电子表格和一个R脚本，以便快速轻松地进行数据分析。本手册旨在帮助用户避免常见错误，例如对从木质部组织排出的气体最小和最大量的不稳定测量，这对估计栓塞抗性有重大影响。气压计装置的主要优点包括其对气体扩散速率的自动和准确测量，包括对完整、栓塞导管中气体体积的高精度测量。目前尚不清楚该方法是否也可应用于具有纹孔膜的木质单子叶植物、裸子植物物种或草本植物物种。
