High throughput selection of novel plant growth regulators: Assessing the translatability of small bioactive molecules from Arabidopsis to crops

Abstract

Plant growth regulators (PGRs) have become an integral part of agricultural and horticultural practices. Accordingly, there is an increased demand for new and cost-effective products. Nevertheless, the market is limited by insufficient innovation. In this context chemical genomics has gained increasing attention as a powerful approach addressing specific traits. Here is described the successful implementation of a highly specific, sensitive and efficient high throughput screening approach using Arabidopsis as a model. Using a combination of techniques, 10,000 diverse compounds were screened and evaluated for several important plant growth traits including root and leaf growth. The phenotype-based selection allowed the compilation of a collection of putative Arabidopsis growth regulators with a broad range of activities and specificities. A subset was selected for evaluating their bioactivity in agronomically valuable plants. Their validation as growth regulators in commercial species such as tomato, lettuce, carrot, maize and turfgrasses reinforced the success of the screening in Arabidopsis and indicated that small molecules activity can be efficiently translated to commercial species. Therefore, the chemical genomics approach in Arabidopsis is a promising field that can be incorporated in PGR discovery programs and has a great potential to develop new products that can be efficiently used in crops.

An innovative automated active compound screening system allows high-throughput optimization of somatic embryogenesis in Coffea arabica

“…The same experiment in flasks was simply unmanageable, as 1 FTE can only inoculate 100 flasks a day, not to mention the space required, whereas inoculation of several hundred wells can be done within hours. Many authors have also shown the importance of miniaturization and automation in animal or plant cell screening systems [31][32][33] . For instance, Rodriguez-Furlan et al 33 also showed that the 24-well microplate format used to screen for compounds modulating A. thaliana seedling growth required a minimum of sample handling and allowed automatic acquisition of quantitative data and rapid monitoring of morphological traits (leaf and root growth).…”

“…Many authors have also shown the importance of miniaturization and automation in animal or plant cell screening systems [31][32][33] . For instance, Rodriguez-Furlan et al 33 also showed that the 24-well microplate format used to screen for compounds modulating A. thaliana seedling growth required a minimum of sample handling and allowed automatic acquisition of quantitative data and rapid monitoring of morphological traits (leaf and root growth). This container format, along with automation, allowed the screening of 10,000 structurally diverse compounds in a limited time period.…”

“…While animal cell screening systems are mainly derived from drug discovery programmes and cancer research 18,34 , plant cell screening systems were only recently used to study compound effects on growth and development. To date, in plants, only A. thaliana seedlings have been used in such studies, because of their small size, allowing development in multi-well containers 33,35 . However, automated screening systems for active compounds have never been used in plant propagation procedures.…”

Biomass Accumulation, Photosynthetic Pigments, Osmotic Adjustments and Antioxidant Activities of Leymus chinensis in Response to BA, BR, and GA

“…Among the numerous strategies that are used for alleviation of stresses, exogenous application of plant growth substances is an economical strategy to alleviate adverse implications of stress (Rodriguez-Furlán et al, 2016). Regarding plant growth substances, foliar application of brassinosteroids (BR) enhances the capability of plants to accumulate osmotic substances and decrease osmotic potential.…”

High Throughput Screening Method for Identifying Potential Agonists and Antagonists of Arabidopsis thaliana Cytokinin Receptor CRE1/AHK4

“…However, these classical methods are not usually suitable for high throughput screening (HTS) due to the laboriousness and costs of both preparing the test materials (e.g., whole plants) and evaluating phenotypic effects of the treatments. Furthermore, although such techniques may identify substances with general effects on plant growth and development (for example, see Rodriguez-Furlán et al, 2016), they provide little or no information on the molecular level mechanisms involved.…”