Effects of X-ray dose on rhizosphere studies using X-ray computed tomography
X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) is a non-destructive imaging technique originally designed for diagnostic medicine, which was adopted for rhizosphere and soil science applications in the early 1980s. X-ray CT enables researchers to simultaneously visualise and quantify the heterogeneous soil matrix o...
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| Format: | Article |
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Public Library of Science
2013
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2791/ |
| _version_ | 1848790876501835776 |
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| author | Zappala, Susan Helliwell, Jonathan R. Tracy, Saoirse Mairhofer, Stefan Sturrock, Craig Pridmore, Tony Bennett, Malcolm J. Mooney, Sacha J. |
| author_facet | Zappala, Susan Helliwell, Jonathan R. Tracy, Saoirse Mairhofer, Stefan Sturrock, Craig Pridmore, Tony Bennett, Malcolm J. Mooney, Sacha J. |
| author_sort | Zappala, Susan |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) is a non-destructive imaging technique originally designed for diagnostic medicine, which was adopted for rhizosphere and soil science applications in the early 1980s. X-ray CT enables researchers to simultaneously visualise and quantify the heterogeneous soil matrix of mineral grains, organic matter, air-filled pores and water-filled pores. Additionally, X-ray CT allows visualisation of plant roots in situ without the need for traditional invasive methods such as root washing. However, one routinely unreported aspect of X-ray CT is the potential effect of X-ray dose on the soil-borne microorganisms and plants in rhizosphere investigations. Here we aimed to i) highlight the need for more consistent reporting of X-ray CT parameters for dose to sample, ii) to provide an overview of previously reported impacts of X-rays on soil microorganisms and plant roots and iii) present new data investigating the response of plant roots and microbial communities to X-ray exposure. Fewer than 5% of the 126 publications included in the literature review contained sufficient information to calculate dose and only 2.4% of the publications explicitly state an estimate of dose received by each sample. We conducted a study involving rice roots growing in soil, observing no significant difference between the numbers of root tips, root volume and total root length in scanned versus unscanned samples. In parallel, a soil microbe experiment scanning samples over a total of 24 weeks observed no significant difference between the scanned and unscanned microbial biomass values. We conclude from the literature review and our own experiments that X-ray CT does not impact plant growth or soil microbial populations when employing a low level of dose (<30 Gy). However, the call for higher throughput X-ray CT means that doses that biological samples receive are likely to increase and thus should be closely monitored. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T18:19:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-2791 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T18:19:35Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-27912024-08-15T15:14:15Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2791/ Effects of X-ray dose on rhizosphere studies using X-ray computed tomography Zappala, Susan Helliwell, Jonathan R. Tracy, Saoirse Mairhofer, Stefan Sturrock, Craig Pridmore, Tony Bennett, Malcolm J. Mooney, Sacha J. X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) is a non-destructive imaging technique originally designed for diagnostic medicine, which was adopted for rhizosphere and soil science applications in the early 1980s. X-ray CT enables researchers to simultaneously visualise and quantify the heterogeneous soil matrix of mineral grains, organic matter, air-filled pores and water-filled pores. Additionally, X-ray CT allows visualisation of plant roots in situ without the need for traditional invasive methods such as root washing. However, one routinely unreported aspect of X-ray CT is the potential effect of X-ray dose on the soil-borne microorganisms and plants in rhizosphere investigations. Here we aimed to i) highlight the need for more consistent reporting of X-ray CT parameters for dose to sample, ii) to provide an overview of previously reported impacts of X-rays on soil microorganisms and plant roots and iii) present new data investigating the response of plant roots and microbial communities to X-ray exposure. Fewer than 5% of the 126 publications included in the literature review contained sufficient information to calculate dose and only 2.4% of the publications explicitly state an estimate of dose received by each sample. We conducted a study involving rice roots growing in soil, observing no significant difference between the numbers of root tips, root volume and total root length in scanned versus unscanned samples. In parallel, a soil microbe experiment scanning samples over a total of 24 weeks observed no significant difference between the scanned and unscanned microbial biomass values. We conclude from the literature review and our own experiments that X-ray CT does not impact plant growth or soil microbial populations when employing a low level of dose (<30 Gy). However, the call for higher throughput X-ray CT means that doses that biological samples receive are likely to increase and thus should be closely monitored. Public Library of Science 2013-06-26 Article PeerReviewed Zappala, Susan, Helliwell, Jonathan R., Tracy, Saoirse, Mairhofer, Stefan, Sturrock, Craig, Pridmore, Tony, Bennett, Malcolm J. and Mooney, Sacha J. (2013) Effects of X-ray dose on rhizosphere studies using X-ray computed tomography. PLoS ONE, 8 (6). e67250/1-e67250/8. ISSN 1932-6203 http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0067250 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0067250 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0067250 |
| spellingShingle | Zappala, Susan Helliwell, Jonathan R. Tracy, Saoirse Mairhofer, Stefan Sturrock, Craig Pridmore, Tony Bennett, Malcolm J. Mooney, Sacha J. Effects of X-ray dose on rhizosphere studies using X-ray computed tomography |
| title | Effects of X-ray dose on rhizosphere studies using X-ray computed tomography |
| title_full | Effects of X-ray dose on rhizosphere studies using X-ray computed tomography |
| title_fullStr | Effects of X-ray dose on rhizosphere studies using X-ray computed tomography |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of X-ray dose on rhizosphere studies using X-ray computed tomography |
| title_short | Effects of X-ray dose on rhizosphere studies using X-ray computed tomography |
| title_sort | effects of x-ray dose on rhizosphere studies using x-ray computed tomography |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2791/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2791/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2791/ |