Department of Biological Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA.
Black Gallina Consulting, Seattle, WA, USA.
Methods Mol Biol. 2022;2368:81-94. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1677-2_6.
Despite mechanical stimulation having profound effects on plant growth and development and modulating responses to many other stimuli, including to gravity, much of the molecular machinery triggering plant mechanical responses remains unknown. This gap in our knowledge arises in part from difficulties in applying reproducible, long-term touch stimulation to plants. We describe the design and implementation of the Automated Botanical Contact Device (ABCD) that applies intermittent, controlled, and highly reproducible mechanical stimulation by drawing a plastic sheet across experimental plants. The device uses a computer numerical control platform and continuously monitors plant growth and development using automated computer vision and image analysis. The system is designed around an open-source architecture to help promote the generation of comparable datasets between laboratories. The ABCD also offers a scalable system that could be deployed in the controlled environment setting, such as a greenhouse, to manipulate plant growth and development through controlled, repetitive mechanostimulation.
尽管机械刺激对植物的生长和发育有深远的影响，并调节对许多其他刺激的反应，包括对重力的反应，但触发植物机械反应的大部分分子机制仍不清楚。我们知识上的这一空白部分源于难以对植物进行可重复的长期触摸刺激。我们描述了自动植物接触装置（ABCD）的设计和实现，该装置通过在实验植物上划动塑料片来施加间歇性、可控和高度可重复的机械刺激。该装置使用计算机数控平台，并使用自动化计算机视觉和图像分析不断监测植物的生长和发育。该系统围绕开源架构设计，有助于促进实验室之间生成可比数据集。ABCD 还提供了一个可扩展的系统，可以在受控环境设置（如温室）中部署，通过受控的、重复的机械刺激来操纵植物的生长和发育。
