High-throughput phenotyping platform for analyzing drought tolerance in rice

Abstract

Main conclusion A new imaging platform was constructed to analyze drought-tolerant traits of rice. Rice was used to quantify drought phenotypes through image-based parameters and analyzing tools. Abstract Climate change has increased the frequency and severity of drought, which limits crop production worldwide. Developing new cultivars with increased drought tolerance and short breeding cycles is critical. However, achieving this goal requires phenotyping a large number of breeding populations in a short time and in an accurate manner. Novel cutting-edge technologies such as those based on remote sensors are being applied to solve this problem. In this study, new technologies were applied to obtain and analyze imaging data and establish efficient screening platforms for drought tolerance in rice using the drought-tolerant mutant osphyb. Red–Green–Blue images were used to predict plant area, color, and compactness. Near-infrared imaging was used to determine the water content of rice, infrared was used to assess plant temperature, and fluorescence was used to examine photosynthesis efficiency. DroughtSpotter technology was used to determine water use efficiency, plant water loss rate, and transpiration rate. The results indicate that these methods can detect the difference between tolerant and susceptible plants, suggesting their value as high-throughput phenotyping methods for short breeding cycles as well as for functional genetic studies of tolerance to drought stress.

A Beginner’s Guide to Osmoprotection by Biostimulants

“…Applying this, Siddiqui et al [217] demonstrated how the leaf temperature of plants submitted to drought stress increases in a high correlation with relative water content and osmotic potential, and a good correlation with stomatal conductance. Others have used drought-tolerant maize genotypes or salt-tolerant cereals [214,218]. One of the drawbacks of this approach has been the need to use a thermal camera, but recently some papers show how a cheap camera coupled to a smartphone is adequate for infra-red thermography studies [219].…”

“…The infrared approach can be used within a high-throughput phenotyping platform, such as that described by Kim et al, [218]. This is able to measure plant area, colour, compactness, seed/cereal water content, and photosynthetic efficiency in real time, using image technology and DroughtSpotter.…”

Tackling microbial threats in agriculture with integrative imaging and computational approaches

“…Imaging based on fluorescence is often used for proximal phenotyping to quantify phenotypic changes related to photosynthesis, nitrogen content and diseases like Septoria tritici blotch ( Fig. 2 A-B) [42] , [87] , [88] , [89] . Proximal phenotyping platforms can measure canopy temperature, nitrogen content, as well as phenotypic traits including leaf area and plant height [90] .…”

“…Proximal phenotyping platforms can measure canopy temperature, nitrogen content, as well as phenotypic traits including leaf area and plant height [90] . Such efficient, whole-plant phenotyping helped accelerate the selection of drought-resistant rice plants [89] . The platform was designed for imaging in the visible spectrum to record morphological features.…”

“…The platform was designed for imaging in the visible spectrum to record morphological features. The system also included infrared and near-infrared imaging to quantify water content, as well as temperature and fluorescence measures to quantify photosynthesis efficiency [89] . The platform could accurately distinguish tolerant and susceptible plants and thus enabling rapid selection for speed breeding.…”