DataSheet_5_A bench-top Dark-Root device built with LEGO® bricks enables a non-invasive plant root development analysis in soil conditions mirroring nature.pdf

Roots are the hidden parts of plants, anchoring their above-ground counterparts in the soil. They are responsible for water and nutrient uptake and for interacting with biotic and abiotic factors in the soil. The root system architecture (RSA) and its plasticity are crucial for resource acquisition and consequently correlate with plant performance while being highly dependent on the surrounding environment, such as soil properties and therefore environmental conditions. Thus, especially for crop plants and regarding agricultural challenges, it is essential to perform molecular and phenotypic analyses of the root system under conditions as near as possible to nature (#asnearaspossibletonature). To prevent root illumination during experimental procedures, which would heavily affect root development, Dark-Root (D-Root) devices (DRDs) have been developed. In this article, we describe the construction and different applications of a sustainable, affordable, flexible, and easy to assemble open-hardware bench-top LEGO® DRD, the DRD-BIBLOX (Brick Black Box). The DRD-BIBLOX consists of one or more 3D-printed rhizoboxes, which can be filled with soil while still providing root visibility. The rhizoboxes sit in a scaffold of secondhand LEGO® bricks, which allows root development in the dark and non-invasive root tracking with an infrared (IR) camera and an IR light-emitting diode (LED) cluster. Proteomic analyses confirmed significant effects of root illumination on barley root and shoot proteomes. Additionally, we confirmed the significant effect of root illumination on barley root and shoot phenotypes. Our data therefore reinforces the importance of the application of field conditions in the lab and the value of our novel device, the DRD-BIBLOX. We further provide a DRD-BIBLOX application spectrum, spanning from investigating a variety of plant species and soil conditions and simulating different environmental conditions and stresses, to proteomic and phenotypic analyses, including early root tracking in the dark.

根系是植物的地下部分，可将地上部分固定于土壤之中。其负责吸收水分与养分，并与土壤中的生物及非生物因子发生相互作用。根系构型（root system architecture, RSA）及其可塑性对于资源获取至关重要，进而与植物生长表现相关联，同时其又高度依赖周边环境，例如土壤属性，亦即环境条件。因此，尤其针对作物植物以及应对农业挑战而言，在尽可能贴近自然的条件下开展根系的分子与表型分析极为必要（#asnearaspossibletonature）。为避免实验过程中根系受光照影响——光照会严重干扰根系发育，暗根系（Dark-Root, D-Root）装置（Dark-Root devices, DRDs）应运而生。本文详述了一款可持续、低成本、灵活易用且易于组装的开源硬件台式乐高®暗根系装置：DRD-BIBLOX（积木黑箱，Brick Black Box）的构建方法与多种应用场景。DRD-BIBLOX由一个或多个3D打印根箱组成，此类根箱可装填土壤，同时可观测根系生长情况。该根箱安置于二手乐高®积木搭建的支架中，可确保根系在黑暗环境中发育，并通过红外（infrared, IR）相机与红外发光二极管（light-emitting diode, LED）阵列实现无损根系追踪。蛋白质组学分析证实，根系受光照会对大麦根系与地上部分的蛋白质组产生显著影响。此外，本研究证实根系受光照会对大麦根系及地上部分的表型产生显著影响。因此，本研究数据进一步佐证了在实验室中模拟田间条件的重要性，以及本新型装置DRD-BIBLOX的应用价值。本研究还提供了DRD-BIBLOX的应用范围，涵盖多种植物物种与土壤条件的研究、不同环境条件及胁迫的模拟，以及包括黑暗环境下早期根系追踪在内的蛋白质组学与表型分析等场景。