This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I proposal addresses the visualization and study of the architectural properties of plant roots which, by their nature, are difficult to view and study in vivo. The research objective of this proposal is to develop a method for the analysis and visual display of the architectural properties of root systems based on radiographic images of root systems. Topology based analysis technology will be transferred from Duke University and combined with an existing correlation based method to process raw images and abstract from those images relevant architectural parameters. An existing network visualization package will be adapted for use with plant root metrics. A plant growth demonstration will be conducted, root architectures characterized, and displayed using network methods. It is anticipated that by displaying plant root architectural metrics in an interactive visual user interface using network methods, will allow the plant researcher to observe relationships among genotypic, phenotypic, and environmental plant data.
The understanding of the genetic basis of root architecture is important in that roots play a critical role in plant growth; however, the methods currently used for plant root research are relatively primitive, as compared to above surface methods. The economic significance of this innovation is that it proposes an enabling technology near the beginning of a long value chain structure that begins with basic plant improvement research and ends in a projected $500 billion bio-product market. Even small improvements made in plant yield will have large impacts by the multiplier effect of this market size. The societal impact of improved plant species using gene transforming methods and conventional breeding methods will be greater productivity of food, fibers, bioenergy crops, and other biomass products.
