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Preparation, Scanning and Analysis of Duckweed Using X-Ray Computed Microtomography

Jones, Dylan H.; Atkinson, Brian; Ware, Alexander; Sturrock, Craig J.; Bishopp, Anthony; Wells, Darren M.

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Authors

Dylan H. Jones

Brian Atkinson

ALEX WARE ALEX.WARE@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Research Fellow

DARREN WELLS DARREN.WELLS@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Principal Research Fellow



Abstract

© Copyright © 2021 Jones, Atkinson, Ware, Sturrock, Bishopp and Wells. Quantification of anatomical and compositional features underpins both fundamental and applied studies of plant structure and function. Relatively few non-invasive techniques are available for aquatic plants. Traditional methods such as sectioning are low-throughput and provide 2-dimensional information. X-ray Computed Microtomography (μCT) offers a non-destructive method of three dimensional (3D) imaging in planta, but has not been widely used for aquatic species, due to the difficulties in sample preparation and handling. We present a novel sample handling protocol for aquatic plant material developed for μCT imaging, using duckweed plants and turions as exemplars, and compare the method against existing approaches. This technique allows for previously unseen 3D volume analysis of gaseous filled spaces, cell material, and sub-cellular features. The described embedding method, utilizing petrolatum gel for sample mounting, was shown to preserve sample quality during scanning, and to display sufficiently different X-ray attenuation to the plant material to be easily differentiated by image analysis pipelines. We present this technique as an improved method for anatomical structural analysis that provides novel cellular and developmental information.

Citation

Jones, D. H., Atkinson, B., Ware, A., Sturrock, C. J., Bishopp, A., & Wells, D. M. (2021). Preparation, Scanning and Analysis of Duckweed Using X-Ray Computed Microtomography. Frontiers in Plant Science, 11, Article 617830. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.617830

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Dec 7, 2020
Online Publication Date Jan 8, 2021
Publication Date Jan 8, 2021
Deposit Date Dec 16, 2020
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Frontiers in Plant Science
Electronic ISSN 1664-462X
Publisher Frontiers Media
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 11
Article Number 617830
DOI https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.617830
Keywords duckweed; MicroCT (mCT) scanning technology; anatomics; image analysis; petrolatum; anatomical phenotyping
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5153159
Publisher URL https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2020.617830/full
Additional Information Jones DH, Atkinson BS, Ware A, Sturrock CJ, Bishopp A and Wells DM
(2021) Preparation, Scanning and Analysis of Duckweed Using X-Ray Computed Microtomography. Front. Plant Sci. 11:617830. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2020.617830

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