Quantification of stimulus-induced callose spots on plant materials

Abstract

Plants are known to synthesize and accumulate callose, a β-1,3-linked glucan, in response to pathogen infection, elicitor treatment and wounding. Although callose deposition has often been used as an index of defense responses in plant, its quantification is laborious and difficult. We have developed a simple computer program to quantify callose spots on microscopic images based on multiple Rotational Morphological Processing (RMP), which is suitable for the detection of biological spots with intricate morphology. The program developed in this study is useful for the detection of callose spots on various biological backgrounds, making it possible to compare the responses of plant materials with different genetic background or different stimuli. Validity of this program was supported by comparing the results obtained by the new method and conventional manual counting. This program can be applicable to wide range of images taken by various microscopic systems and also in variable formats.