Abstract
We have developed an imaging system and software for analyzing plant growth and development. To define specific developmental changes, a comprehensive analysis of visible phenotypes required a large-scale image database including more than a thousand growth images per plant that was acquired every minute. We also developed a software platform to observe serial images quickly, measuring growth parameters automatically.
We applied this method for early development of phytochrome-deficient mutants of rice, and analyzed the effects of mutation on growth. The results promptly showed us that the effects of light on either photoinhibiton of extension growth or photoinhibiton of revolving movement of coleoptiles are different according to their growth stages. These two photoresponses were not always simultaneously induced.
We would like to discuss potential opportunities of image processing techniques and statistical techniques to provide a framework for the analysis of future plant growth and development data.
