Lube Vinicius, Noyan Mehmet Alican, Przybysz Alexander, Salama Khaled, Blilou Ikram
Laboratory of Plant Cell and Developmental Biology (LPCDB), Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
Ipsumio B.V., High Tech Campus, 5656, Eindhoven, AE, Netherlands.
Plant Methods. 2022 Mar 27;18(1):38. doi: 10.1186/s13007-022-00864-4.
Profiling the plant root architecture is vital for selecting resilient crops that can efficiently take up water and nutrients. The high-performance imaging tools available to study root-growth dynamics with the optimal resolution are costly and stationary. In addition, performing nondestructive high-throughput phenotyping to extract the structural and morphological features of roots remains challenging.
We developed the MultipleXLab: a modular, mobile, and cost-effective setup to tackle these limitations. The system can continuously monitor thousands of seeds from germination to root development based on a conventional camera attached to a motorized multiaxis-rotational stage and custom-built 3D-printed plate holder with integrated light-emitting diode lighting. We also developed an image segmentation model based on deep learning that allows the users to analyze the data automatically. We tested the MultipleXLab to monitor seed germination and root growth of Arabidopsis developmental, cell cycle, and auxin transport mutants non-invasively at high-throughput and showed that the system provides robust data and allows precise evaluation of germination index and hourly growth rate between mutants.
MultipleXLab provides a flexible and user-friendly root phenotyping platform that is an attractive mobile alternative to high-end imaging platforms and stationary growth chambers. It can be used in numerous applications by plant biologists, the seed industry, crop scientists, and breeding companies.
剖析植物根系结构对于选择能够高效吸收水分和养分的抗逆作物至关重要。现有的用于以最佳分辨率研究根系生长动态的高性能成像工具成本高昂且固定不动。此外，进行无损高通量表型分析以提取根系的结构和形态特征仍然具有挑战性。
我们开发了MultipleXLab：一种模块化、可移动且经济高效的装置，以克服这些限制。该系统可以基于安装在电动多轴旋转台上的传统相机以及带有集成发光二极管照明的定制3D打印板架，从种子萌发到根系发育连续监测数千颗种子。我们还开发了一种基于深度学习的图像分割模型，允许用户自动分析数据。我们测试了MultipleXLab以高通量方式非侵入性地监测拟南芥发育、细胞周期和生长素运输突变体的种子萌发和根系生长，结果表明该系统提供了可靠的数据，并允许精确评估突变体之间的发芽指数和每小时生长速率。
MultipleXLab提供了一个灵活且用户友好的根系表型分析平台，是高端成像平台和固定生长室颇具吸引力的移动替代方案。它可被植物生物学家、种子行业、作物科学家和育种公司用于众多应用中。
