The Microphenotron: a robotic miniaturized plant phenotyping platform with diverse applications in chemical biology
Background Chemical genetics provides a powerful alternative to conventional genetics for understanding gene function. However, its application to plants has been limited by the lack of a technology that allows detailed phenotyping of whole-seedling development in the context of a high-throughput c...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
BioMed Central
2017
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41078/ |
| _version_ | 1848796191869894656 |
|---|---|
| author | Burrell, Thomas Fozard, Susan Holroyd, Geoff H. French, Andrew P. Pound, Michael P. Bigley, Christopher J. Taylor, C. James Forde, Brian G. |
| author_facet | Burrell, Thomas Fozard, Susan Holroyd, Geoff H. French, Andrew P. Pound, Michael P. Bigley, Christopher J. Taylor, C. James Forde, Brian G. |
| author_sort | Burrell, Thomas |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Background
Chemical genetics provides a powerful alternative to conventional genetics for understanding gene function. However, its application to plants has been limited by the lack of a technology that allows detailed phenotyping of whole-seedling development in the context of a high-throughput chemical screen. We have therefore sought to develop an automated micro-phenotyping platform that would allow both root and shoot development to be monitored under conditions where the phenotypic effects of large numbers of small molecules can be assessed.
Results
The ‘Microphenotron’ platform uses 96-well microtitre plates to deliver chemical treatments to seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana L. and is based around four components: (a) the ‘Phytostrip’, a novel seedling growth device that enables chemical treatments to be combined with the automated capture of images of developing roots and shoots; (b) an illuminated robotic platform that uses a commercially available robotic manipulator to capture images of developing shoots and roots; (c) software to control the sequence of robotic movements and integrate these with the image capture process; (d) purpose-made image analysis software for automated extraction of quantitative phenotypic data. Imaging of each plate (representing 80 separate assays) takes 4 min and can easily be performed daily for time-course studies. As currently configured, the Microphenotron has a capacity of 54 microtitre plates in a growth room footprint of 2.1 m², giving a potential throughput of up to 4320 chemical treatments in a typical 10 days experiment. The Microphenotron has been validated by using it to screen a collection of 800 natural compounds for qualitative effects on root development and to perform a quantitative analysis of the effects of a range of concentrations of nitrate and ammonium on seedling development.
Conclusions
The Microphenotron is an automated screening platform that for the first time is able to combine large numbers of individual chemical treatments with a detailed analysis of whole-seedling development, and particularly root system development. The Microphenotron should provide a powerful new tool for chemical genetics and for wider chemical biology applications, including the development of natural and synthetic chemical products for improved agricultural sustainability. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:44:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-41078 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:44:04Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | BioMed Central |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-410782020-05-04T18:32:16Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41078/ The Microphenotron: a robotic miniaturized plant phenotyping platform with diverse applications in chemical biology Burrell, Thomas Fozard, Susan Holroyd, Geoff H. French, Andrew P. Pound, Michael P. Bigley, Christopher J. Taylor, C. James Forde, Brian G. Background Chemical genetics provides a powerful alternative to conventional genetics for understanding gene function. However, its application to plants has been limited by the lack of a technology that allows detailed phenotyping of whole-seedling development in the context of a high-throughput chemical screen. We have therefore sought to develop an automated micro-phenotyping platform that would allow both root and shoot development to be monitored under conditions where the phenotypic effects of large numbers of small molecules can be assessed. Results The ‘Microphenotron’ platform uses 96-well microtitre plates to deliver chemical treatments to seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana L. and is based around four components: (a) the ‘Phytostrip’, a novel seedling growth device that enables chemical treatments to be combined with the automated capture of images of developing roots and shoots; (b) an illuminated robotic platform that uses a commercially available robotic manipulator to capture images of developing shoots and roots; (c) software to control the sequence of robotic movements and integrate these with the image capture process; (d) purpose-made image analysis software for automated extraction of quantitative phenotypic data. Imaging of each plate (representing 80 separate assays) takes 4 min and can easily be performed daily for time-course studies. As currently configured, the Microphenotron has a capacity of 54 microtitre plates in a growth room footprint of 2.1 m², giving a potential throughput of up to 4320 chemical treatments in a typical 10 days experiment. The Microphenotron has been validated by using it to screen a collection of 800 natural compounds for qualitative effects on root development and to perform a quantitative analysis of the effects of a range of concentrations of nitrate and ammonium on seedling development. Conclusions The Microphenotron is an automated screening platform that for the first time is able to combine large numbers of individual chemical treatments with a detailed analysis of whole-seedling development, and particularly root system development. The Microphenotron should provide a powerful new tool for chemical genetics and for wider chemical biology applications, including the development of natural and synthetic chemical products for improved agricultural sustainability. BioMed Central 2017-03-01 Article PeerReviewed Burrell, Thomas, Fozard, Susan, Holroyd, Geoff H., French, Andrew P., Pound, Michael P., Bigley, Christopher J., Taylor, C. James and Forde, Brian G. (2017) The Microphenotron: a robotic miniaturized plant phenotyping platform with diverse applications in chemical biology. Plant Methods, 13 (10). pp. 1-20. ISSN 1746-4811 Arabidopsis thaliana Automated Biostimulants Chemical biology Chemical genetics Eragrostis tef Plant phenotyping Robotic Root system architecture Shoot development https://plantmethods.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13007-017-0158-6 doi:10.1186/s13007-017-0158-6 doi:10.1186/s13007-017-0158-6 |
| spellingShingle | Arabidopsis thaliana Automated Biostimulants Chemical biology Chemical genetics Eragrostis tef Plant phenotyping Robotic Root system architecture Shoot development Burrell, Thomas Fozard, Susan Holroyd, Geoff H. French, Andrew P. Pound, Michael P. Bigley, Christopher J. Taylor, C. James Forde, Brian G. The Microphenotron: a robotic miniaturized plant phenotyping platform with diverse applications in chemical biology |
| title | The Microphenotron: a robotic miniaturized plant phenotyping platform with diverse applications in chemical biology |
| title_full | The Microphenotron: a robotic miniaturized plant phenotyping platform with diverse applications in chemical biology |
| title_fullStr | The Microphenotron: a robotic miniaturized plant phenotyping platform with diverse applications in chemical biology |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Microphenotron: a robotic miniaturized plant phenotyping platform with diverse applications in chemical biology |
| title_short | The Microphenotron: a robotic miniaturized plant phenotyping platform with diverse applications in chemical biology |
| title_sort | microphenotron: a robotic miniaturized plant phenotyping platform with diverse applications in chemical biology |
| topic | Arabidopsis thaliana Automated Biostimulants Chemical biology Chemical genetics Eragrostis tef Plant phenotyping Robotic Root system architecture Shoot development |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41078/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41078/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41078/ |