Ultrasound Pulse Emission Spectroscopy Method to Characterize Xylem Conduits in Plant Stems

Ultrasound Pulse Emission Spectroscopy Method to Characterize Xylem Conduits in Plant Stems

Dutta, S. (TU Delft Dynamics of Micro and Nano Systems)
Chen, Zhiyi (Wageningen University & Research)
Kaiser, Elias (Wageningen University & Research)
Malcolm Matamoros, Priscilla (Wageningen University & Research)
Steeneken, P.G. (TU Delft Dynamics of Micro and Nano Systems; TU Delft QN/Steeneken Lab)
Verbiest, G.J. (TU Delft Dynamics of Micro and Nano Systems)

2022

Although it is well known that plants emit acoustic pulses under drought stress, the exact origin of the waveform of these ultrasound pulses has remained elusive. Here, we present evidence for a correlation between the characteristics of the waveform of these pulses and the dimensions of xylem conduits in plants. Using a model that relates the resonant vibrations of a vessel to its dimension and viscoelasticity, we extract the xylem radii from the waveforms of ultrasound pulses and show that these are correlated and in good agreement with optical microscopy. We demonstrate the versatility of the method by applying it to shoots of ten different vascular plant species. In particular, for Hydrangea quercifolia, we further extract vessel element lengths with our model and compare them with scanning electron cryomicroscopy. The ultrasonic, noninvasive characterization of internal conduit dimensions enables a breakthrough in speed and accuracy in plant phenotyping and stress detection.

OA-Fund TU Delft

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:20f2e6b8-6e43-4cda-ae40-24299ca1ca18

https://doi.org/10.34133/2022/9790438

2096-5168

Research, 2022

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2022 S. Dutta, Zhiyi Chen, Elias Kaiser, Priscilla Malcolm Matamoros, P.G. Steeneken, G.J. Verbiest