Salvatore Lucila, Pierik Ronald, Kajala Kaisa, Ten Tusscher Kirsten
Experimental and Computational Plant Development group, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Theoretical Biology group, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Quant Plant Biol. 2025 Aug 13;6:e25. doi: 10.1017/qpb.2025.10004. eCollection 2025.
Scientific progress relies on reproducibility, replicability, and robustness of research outcomes. After briefly discussing these terms and their significance for reliable scientific discovery, we argue for the importance of investigating robustness of outcomes to experimental protocol variations. We highlight challenges in achieving robust, replicable results in multi-step plant science experiments, using split-root assays in Arabidopsis thaliana as a case study. These experiments are important for unraveling the contributions of local, systemic and long-distance signalling in plant responses and play a central role in nutrient foraging research. The complexity of these experiments allows for extensive variation in protocols. We investigate what variations do or do not result in similar outcomes and provide concrete recommendations for enhancing the replicability and robustness of these and other complex experiments by extending the level of detail in research protocols.
科学进步依赖于研究成果的可重复性、可复制性和稳健性。在简要讨论这些术语及其对可靠科学发现的重要性之后，我们论证了研究实验方案变化对结果稳健性的重要性。我们以拟南芥的分根试验为例，强调在多步骤植物科学实验中获得稳健、可复制结果所面临的挑战。这些实验对于揭示植物反应中局部、系统和长距离信号传导的作用非常重要，并且在养分觅食研究中发挥着核心作用。这些实验的复杂性使得实验方案存在广泛的差异。我们研究哪些差异会或不会导致相似的结果，并通过扩展研究方案的详细程度，为提高这些及其他复杂实验的可复制性和稳健性提供具体建议。
