A standardized and efficient technique to estimate seed traits in plants with numerous small propagules.

Abstract

Premise Variation in seed traits is common within and among populations of plant species and often has ecological and evolutionary implications. However, due to the time-consuming nature of manual seed measurements and the level of variability in imaging techniques, quantifying and interpreting the extent of seed variation can be challenging. Methods We developed a standardized high-throughput technique to measure seed number, as well as individual seed area and color, using a derived empirical scale to constrain area in Arabidopsis thaliana, Brassica rapa , and Mimulus guttatus . We develop a specific rational model using seed area measured at various spatial scales relative to the pixel count, observing the asymptotic value of the seed area as the modeled number of pixels approaches infinity. Results We found that our model has high reliability in estimating seed traits and efficiently processes large numbers of images, facilitating the quantification of seed traits in studies with large sample sizes. Discussion This technique facilitates consistency between imaging sessions and standardizes the measurement of seed traits. These novel advances allow researchers to directly and reliably measure seed traits, which will enable tests of the ecological and evolutionary causes of their variation.

Plant phenotyping relevance

種子数・面積・色を画像から高スループットに推定する標準化手法を開発しており、植物形質の取得・抽出が研究の中心である。

Code and data availability

The paper's phenotyping assets (ImageJ macro particleSizeID.txt, R script particleSizeProcess.R, and raw seed measurement data in Appendices S1–S9) are paper-specific and stated to be provided as Supporting Information, but no authors' public URL is present in the supplied text or allowed URL list; access would require

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