A Novel High-Throughput Phenotyping Hydroponic System for Nitrogen Deficiency Studies in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Abstract

High-throughput phenotyping enables the temporal detection of subtle changes in plant plasticity and adaptation to different conditions, such as nitrogen deficiency, in an accurate, nondestructive, and unbiased way. Here, we describe a protocol to assess the contribution of nitrogen addition or deprival using an image-based system to analyze plant phenotype. Thousands of images can be captured throughout the life cycle of Arabidopsis, and those images can be used to quantify parameters such as plant growth (area, caliper length, diameter, etc.), in planta chlorophyll fluorescence, and in planta relative water content.