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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2023.09.26.559576

Non-destructive, whole-plant phenotyping reveals dynamic changes in water use efficiency, photosynthetic efficiency, and rhizosphere acidification of sorghum cultivars under osmotic stress

Ginzburg, D.·Cox, J. A.·Rhee, S. Y.
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Abstract

Noninvasive phenotyping can quantify dynamic plant growth processes at higher temporal resolution than destructive phenotyping and can reveal phenomena that would be missed by end-point analysis alone. Additionally, whole-plant phenotyping can identify growth conditions that are optimal for both above- and below-ground tissues. However, noninvasive, whole-plant phenotyping approaches available today are generally expensive, complex, and non-modular. We developed a low-cost and versatile approach to non-invasively measure whole-plant physiology over time by growing plants in isolated hydroponic chambers. We demonstrate the versatility of our approach by measuring whole-plant biomass accumulation, water use, and water use efficiency every two days on unstressed and osmotically-stressed sorghum accessions. We identified relationships between root zone acidification and photosynthetic efficiency on whole-plant water use efficiency over time. Our system can be implemented using cheap, basic components, requires no specific technical expertise, and is suitable for any non-aquatic vascular plant species.

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Ginzburg, D., Cox, J. A., Rhee, S. Y.. 2023-09-28. Non-destructive, whole-plant phenotyping reveals dynamic changes in water use efficiency, photosynthetic efficiency, and rhizosphere acidification of sorghum cultivars under osmotic stress. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.09.26.559576

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