Seasonal pigment fluctuation in diploid and polyploid Arabidopsis revealed by machine learning-based phenotyping method PlantServation

Abstract

Long-term field monitoring of leaf pigment content is informative for understanding plant responses to environments distinct from regulated chambers but is impractical by conventional destructive measurements. We developed PlantServation, a method incorporating robust image-acquisition hardware and deep learning-based software that extracts leaf color by detecting plant individuals automatically. As a case study, we applied PlantServation to examine environmental and genotypic effects on the pigment anthocyanin content estimated from leaf color. We processed >4 million images of small individuals of four Arabidopsis species in the field, where the plant shape, color, and background vary over months. Past radiation, coldness, and precipitation significantly affected the anthocyanin content. The synthetic allopolyploid A. kamchatica recapitulated the fluctuations of natural polyploids by integrating diploid responses. The data support a long-standing hypothesis stating that allopolyploids can inherit and combine the traits of progenitors. PlantServation facilitates the study of plant responses to complex environments termed “in natura”.

Dominance in self-compatibility between subgenomes of allopolyploid Arabidopsis kamchatica shown by transgenic restoration of self-incompatibility

“…Arabidopsis kamchatica (formerly called Arabidopsis lyrata subsp. kamchatica ) is distributed across a broad latitudinal range in East Asia and North America, and can grow in soils with a broad range of the concentration of heavy metals 44 , 46 , 47 , 59 . The plants were grown in a plant chamber under long-day conditions (16 h light/8 h dark cycle, 22 °C).…”

“…Arabidopsis kamchatica (2 n = 4 x = 32) is a model allopolyploid species with a broad distribution range including locality with heavy metal, and the transgenic technique using floral dip was established 44 – 47 . It is a natural self-compatible and allotetraploid species derived from multiple individuals of two progenitor species, A. halleri and A. lyrata 44 , 48 , 49 .…”