GLO-Roots: an imaging platform enabling multidimensional characterization of soil-grown root systems

  1. Rubén Rellán-Álvarez
  2. Guillaume Lobet
  3. Heike Lindner
  4. Pierre-Luc Pradier
  5. Jose Sebastian
  6. Muh-Ching Yee
  7. Yu Geng
  8. Charlotte Trontin
  9. Therese LaRue
  10. Amanda Schrager-Lavelle
  11. Cara H Haney
  12. Rita Nieu
  13. Julin Maloof
  14. John P Vogel
  15. José R Dinneny  Is a corresponding author
  1. Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico
  2. University of Liège, Belgium
  3. Carnegie Institution for Science, United States
  4. United States Department of Agriculture, United States
  5. Stanford University, United States
  6. University of California, Davis, United States
  7. Harvard Medical School, United States
  8. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, United States

Abstract

Root systems develop different root types that individually sense cues from their local environment and integrate this information with systemic signals. This complex multi-dimensional amalgam of inputs enables continuous adjustment of root growth rates, direction and metabolic activity that define a dynamic physical network. Current methods for analyzing root biology balance physiological relevance with imaging capability. To bridge this divide, we developed an integrated imaging system called Growth and Luminescence Observatory for Roots (GLO-Roots) that uses luminescence-based reporters to enable studies of root architecture and gene expression patterns in soil-grown, light-shielded roots. We have developed image analysis algorithms that allow the spatial integration of soil properties, gene expression and root system architecture traits. We propose GLO-Roots as a system that has great utility in presenting environmental stimuli to roots in ways that evoke natural adaptive responses and in providing tools for studying the multi-dimensional nature of such processes.

Article and author information

Author details

  1. Rubén Rellán-Álvarez

    Unidad de Genómica Avanzada, Laboratorio Nacional de Genómica para la Biodiversidad, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Irapuato, Mexico
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  2. Guillaume Lobet

    PhytoSystems, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  3. Heike Lindner

    Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  4. Pierre-Luc Pradier

    Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, United States Department of Agriculture, Ithaca, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  5. Jose Sebastian

    Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  6. Muh-Ching Yee

    Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  7. Yu Geng

    Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  8. Charlotte Trontin

    Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  9. Therese LaRue

    Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  10. Amanda Schrager-Lavelle

    Department of Plant Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  11. Cara H Haney

    Department of Genetics, Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  12. Rita Nieu

    Western Regional Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Albany, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  13. Julin Maloof

    Department of Plant Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  14. John P Vogel

    Department of Energy, Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  15. José R Dinneny

    Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, United States
    For correspondence
    jdinneny@carnegiescience.edu
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

Reviewing Editor

  1. Maria J Harrison, Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, United States

Publication history

  1. Received: March 23, 2015
  2. Accepted: August 18, 2015
  3. Accepted Manuscript published: August 19, 2015 (version 1)
  4. Version of Record published: October 1, 2015 (version 2)

Copyright

© 2015, Rellán-Álvarez et al.

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.

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  1. Rubén Rellán-Álvarez
  2. Guillaume Lobet
  3. Heike Lindner
  4. Pierre-Luc Pradier
  5. Jose Sebastian
  6. Muh-Ching Yee
  7. Yu Geng
  8. Charlotte Trontin
  9. Therese LaRue
  10. Amanda Schrager-Lavelle
  11. Cara H Haney
  12. Rita Nieu
  13. Julin Maloof
  14. John P Vogel
  15. José R Dinneny
(2015)
GLO-Roots: an imaging platform enabling multidimensional characterization of soil-grown root systems
eLife 4:e07597.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.07597

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