title: High-throughput physiological phenotyping and screening system for the characterization of plant-environment interactions.
abstract: We present a simple and effective high-throughput experimental platform for simultaneous and continuous monitoring of water relations in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum of numerous plants under dynamic environmental conditions. This system provides a simultaneously measured, detailed physiological response profile for each plant in the array, over time periods ranging from a few minutes to the entire growing season, under normal, stress and recovery conditions and at any phenological stage. Three probes for each pot in the array and a specially designed algorithm enable detailed water-relations characterization of whole-plant transpiration, biomass gain, stomatal conductance and root flux. They also enable quantitative calculation of the whole plant water-use efficiency and relative water content at high resolution under dynamic soil and atmospheric conditions. The system has no moving parts and can fit into many growing environments. A screening of 65 introgression lines of a wild tomato species (Solanum pennellii) crossed with cultivated tomato (S. lycopersicum), using our system and conventional gas-exchange tools, confirmed the accuracy of the system as well as its diagnostic capabilities. The use of this high-throughput diagnostic screening method is discussed in light of the gaps in our understanding of the genetic regulation of whole-plant performance, particularly under abiotic stress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil and Water Sciences, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: Ofer
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Halperin
authors.affiliation: The Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: Alem
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gebremedhin
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil and Water Sciences, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: Rony
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wallach
authors.affiliation: The Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: Menachem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moshelion
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D004463:Ecology; D004777:Environment; D005838:Genotype; D010641:Phenotype; D010788:Photosynthesis; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000378:metabolism; D054046:Plant Stomata / Q000378:metabolism; D018526:Plant Transpiration; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014867:Water
keywords: functional phenotyping; genotype-by-environment interaction; phenotyping plant stress response; root flux; soil-plant-atmosphere continuum; technical advance; transpiration; whole-plant water relation