Full-scale monitoring of plants

July 13, 2018

Introducing RIPPS, a fully automatic plant phenotype analysis system

Plants alter their traits from moment to moment in response to their growing environment. In order to understand the mechanisms of adaptation and growth control in stress conditions such as drought, it is necessary to observe plant growth and changes in detail over time in a precisely controlled environment.

RIKEN CSRS has developed a phenotype analysis system that allows automated control and observation of plant growth. The system named RIPPS (RIKEN Integrated Plant Phenotyping System) allows 24-hour observation of 120 plants under precise control of soil water condition by a combination of a belt conveyer system and automatic weighing and watering systems.

This system is expected to help clarify the mechanisms by which plants perceive and adapt to their environment to accelerate the discovery of important factors related to the use of resources such as water and nutritions to contribute to crop breeding through optimized food production technologies and resource utilization efficiencies.

Original article

Plant & Cell Physiology doi:10.1093/pcp/pcy122

M. Fujita, T. Tanabata, K. Urano, S. Kikuchi, K. Shinozaki,

"RIPPS: A Plant Phenotyping System for Quantitative Evaluation of Growth under Controlled Environmental Stress Conditions".

Contact

Miki Fujita; Research Scientist

Takanari Tanabata; Visiting Scientist

Kaoru Urano; Research Scientist

Kazuo Shinozaki; Group Director

Gene Discovery Research Group