Abstract
The color of biological materials provides an indicator of their physiological status and, combined with the morphology, serves as the major visible phenotype. In plants, composition of pigments such as chlorophylls, carotenoids and anthocyanins is the primary determinant of the leaf color. Conventionally, pigment analysis required multistep procedures of liquid-phase extraction followed by absorbance measurement of the extracts. Because of their invasive nature, however, leaf samples used for pigment analysis are no more applicable to additional biochemical assays and to consecutive analysis of pigment dynamics. In research areas of remote sensing, alternative solutions for pigment analysis with non-invasive optical methods have been developed. In this study, we show the advantage of hyperspectral imagery in quantitative analysis of leaf color phenotypes in Arabidopsis. As examples, two-dimensional monitoring system for leaf pigment parameters (concentrations and ratios) and application of the technique in genetic screen for aberrant color phenotypes are presented. Potential impact of such 'spectromics' approach in accelerating data integration from genome to phenome is discussed.
