Quantitative in-situ monitoring of germinating barley seeds using X-ray dark-field radiography

Abstract

During production of malt from barley seeds, cell walls and starch granules in the endosperm are degraded. Although this modification process is important for malt quality, the modification patterns of individual barley seeds have yet to be reported. The use of destructive microscopy methods have previously limited the investigations to ensemble averages.X-ray dark-field radiography is a recent non-destructive imaging method which is sensitive to microstructural variations. In this study, the method was applied for quantitative in-situ monitoring of barley seeds. Microstructural changes relating to water uptake and modification were monitored over a 43-55 h period.Sub-resolution stress cracks as well as a dark-field signal believed to originate from starch granules were detected. The evolution of the dark-field signal followed the known modification pattern in barley seeds. Through image analysis, quantitative parameters describing the movement of the front of the observed pattern were obtained.Based on these findings, X-ray dark-field radiography presents a possible novel approach to monitor the modification of germinating barley seeds.

A functional imaging study of germinating oilseed rape seed

“…Since the restarting of metabolism requires water, several attempts have been made to trace the passage of water into and within the germinating seed; this is conventionally achieved by imbibing seeds in the presence of a range of either dyes or labeled compounds metabolically inert and small enough to enter the seed without disrupting the process of imbibition (Salanenka & Taylor, 2011). The development of electromagnetic radiation imaging platforms relying on either neutron beams (Nakanishi & Matsubayashi, 1997) or X-rays (Nielsen et al, 2017) has promoted imaging of the process at a high level of spatial resolution without opening the sample; however, the excessive energy introduced into the sample by the necessary radiation renders such platforms unusable for carrying out long-term observations. The noninvasive NMR technology, which relies on the magnetic moment of the nuclear spin (but not high-energy radiation), has been designed to capture many of the physical, biochemical and dynamic properties of living tissue, and has shown its potential to monitor living plants over extended periods (Borisjuk et al, 2012;Van As & Van Duynhoven, 2013).…”

High-throughput phenotyping of brachiaria grass seeds using free access tool for analyzing X-ray images

“…In this respect, the configurations of the X-ray equipment used in this study proved to be adequate and standardizable for future experiments with this equipment. Nevertheless, it is known that different X-ray systems might not produce similar results due to the types of X-ray detectors used Other studies have shown that the information generated by simple visual evaluation of the X-rays are highly valuable for analysis of the physical quality of the seeds, and it is a good tool for monitoring germination (Nielsen et al 2017), selection of more vigorous seed lots (Abud et al 2018, and identification of polyembryony (Arruda et al 2018). In this study, the ability to use the X-ray images to visualy identify tissue deterioration brought about by pathogenic agents at different levels is another promising result, which may contribute to fortification of sanitary barriers, avoiding contamination of crops by infested seeds (Figure 2).…”

“…Among these technologies, the X-ray test has been successfully applied for non-destructive evaluation of indicators that are not visible in seeds (Huang et al 2015, Kotwaliwale et al 2014, Rahman & Cho 2016. Several studies have recommended the use of the X-ray technique for analysis of inner seed morphology, seeking to obtain faster and more accurate diagnoses regarding physical characteristics of interest, often related to seed germination and vigor (Abud et al 2018, Arruda et al 2018, Nielsen et al 2017, Noronha et al 2018.…”

Exploration of the X-ray Dark-Field Signal in Mineral Building Materials

“…DFI has found applications in the food industry (DFI is sensitive to the raw, frozen, and defrosted state of fruits [ 29 ] and can monitor the germinating of barley seeds, providing valuable insights into the growth process [ 30 ]), material science (DFI has enabled the study of pores and defects in fiber-reinforced polymers [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ], composites [ 36 , 37 ], stearin [ 38 ], thermoplastics [ 39 ], and metals [ 40 , 41 ], invisible in standard attenuation-based imaging because of their size or composition), and the building industry (monitoring of hardening of cement [ 42 , 43 ] and detection of micro-cracks in concrete [ 44 ]).…”