Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom - TAIR

EZ-Rhizo: New software for fast and accurate
measurement of root system architecture
Root system architecture (RSA) is a quantitative and dynamic output of the
signalling pathways that enable plants to sense and respond to changes in
nutrient supply. Considering that RSA is a complex trait composed of many
parameters that are interconnected through growth, development and
information flow it is very likely that many of its genetic determinants remain
uncovered unless we measure RSA comprehensively.
To allow fast and comprehensive measurement of RSA we have developed the
new software tool EZ-Rhizo. 1 EZ-Rhizo detects roots from scanned images (e.g.
of Arabidopsis thaliana plants grown on vertical agar plates), and automatically
measures a set of primary and derived RSA parameters including path length,
vector length, straightness and angle of main and each lateral root as well as
number, position and density of (higher order) lateral roots. EZ-Rhizo deposits
all measured data into a database, which can subsequently be queried by the
user for individual parameters and/or metadata (e.g. genotype, growth
conditions, time point). We have already demonstrated the usefulness of EZ-
Rhizo for quantifying natural variation of RSA among A. thaliana ecotypes and
for extracting spatial and kinetic information on root growth. 1 A free download of
EZ-Rhizo is available to the scientific community from our web page. 2
For demonstration and training visit our computer station in the poster hall!
1 Armengaud, P. et al (2009) EZ-Rhizo: integrated software for the fast and
accurate measurement of root system architecture. Plant Journal 57, 5,
945-956
2 http://www.psrg.org.uk/
65
C14
Wednesday 17:00 -17:15
Tools and Resources
Patrick Armengaud1
Kevin Zambaux1
Adrian Hills1
Ronan Sulpice2
Richard J Pattison1
Michael R Blatt1
Anna Amtmann1
1Plant Sciences Group
FBLS
University of Glasgow
Glasgow
G12 8QQ
UK
2Max Planck Institute of
Molecular Plant Physiology
Am Mühlenberg 1
14476 Golm
Germany