Comparative high-throughput phenotyping across two facilities reveals differential impact of defence mechanisms on plant growth and development

Abstract

Abstract Fitness costs of plant disease defence are often subtle and difficult to quantify. In this study, we therefore used comparative high-throughput phenotyping in two independent facilities to assess growth, morphology and physiology of potato (cv. Désirée) with high time-resolution monitoring different defence mechanisms under pathogen-free conditions. Plants were either treated weekly with the resistance inducers β-aminobutyric acid (BABA; 10 mM) or potassium phosphite (KPhi; 36 mM) or comprised six transgenic lines expressing late blight resistance genes (single Rpi genes or a three-gene stack) or reduced jasmonate perception (StCOI1-RNAi). Over four weeks, image-derived traits revealed consistent cross-facility effects for plant height and colour: BABA treatment increased plant height but reduced canopy area and induced a paler greenness signature, whereas KPhi caused minimal and transient growth effects. Chlorophyll fluorescence at the NaPPI facility indicated reduced vitality (Rfd_Lss) in BABA-treated plants and increased Rfd_Lss following KPhi, while maximum PSII efficiency was largely unchanged. Several transgenic lines showed somewhat reduced above-ground biomass. Enzyme activity profiling produced distinct treatment and genotype signatures, but was strongly modulated by facility conditions that overrode these specificities. Overall, high-throughput phenotyping robustly detected subtle growth–defence trade-offs across platforms. Highlight High-throughput optical phenotyping validated across two independent research facilities reveals that stacked resistance genes and resistance inducers in potato trigger subtle growth trade-offs. Graphical abstracts Experimental timeline for high-throughput plant phenotyping platforms. Created in BioRender. Poque, S. (2026) https://BioRender.com/nmkve7g

Plant phenotyping relevance

二つの独立施設で高スループット光学フェノタイピングを比較・検証し、画像由来形質と蛍光指標の再現性を評価しており、フェノタイピング手法が研究の中心である。

Code and data availability

The paper describes high-throughput phenotyping of potato across two facilities (NaPPI and PhenoLab), including RGB/multispectral imaging, chlorophyll fluorescence, and enzyme activity data. The only paper-specific asset statement is a future-tense data availability note: phenomics data (raw/processed images and data)

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