Belowground plant development measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): exploiting the potential for non-invasive trait quantification using sugar beet as a proxy.

ABSTRACT: Both structural and functional properties of belowground plant organs are critical for the development and yield of plants but, compared to the shoot, much more difficult to observe due to soil opacity. Many processes concerning the belowground plant performance are not fully understood, in particular spatial and temporal dynamics and their interrelation with environmental factors. We used Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as a noninvasive method to evaluate which traits can be measured when a complex plant organ is monitored in-vivo while growing in the soil. We chose sugar beet (Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris) as a model system. The beet consists mainly of root tissues, is rather complex regarding tissue structure and responses to environmental factors, and thereby a good object to test the

SUBMITTER: Metzner R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4165221 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature