Hybrid Autofluorescence and Optoacoustic Microscopy for the Label-Free, Early and Rapid Detection of Pathogenic Infections in Vegetative Tissues.

Abstract

Agriculture plays a pivotal role in food security and food security is challenged by pests and pathogens. Due to these challenges, the yields and quality of agricultural production are reduced and, in response, restrictions in the trade of plant products are applied. Governments have collaborated to establish robust phytosanitary measures, promote disease surveillance, and invest in research and development to mitigate the impact on food security. Classic as well as modernized tools for disease diagnosis and pathogen surveillance do exist, but most of these are time-consuming, laborious, or are less sensitive. To that end, we propose the innovative application of a hybrid imaging approach through the combination of confocal fluorescence and optoacoustic imaging microscopy. This has allowed us to non-destructively detect the physiological changes that occur in plant tissues as a result of a pathogen-induced interaction well before visual symptoms occur. When broccoli leaves were artificially infected with Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris ( Xcc ), eventually causing an economically important bacterial disease, the induced optical absorption alterations could be detected at very early stages of infection. Therefore, this innovative microscopy approach was positively utilized to detect the disease caused by a plant pathogen, showing that it can also be employed to detect quarantine pathogens such as Xylella fastidiosa .

Plant phenotyping relevance

植物組織の病原体誘導性の生理変化を、蛍光・光音響のハイブリッド顕微鏡で非破壊かつ早期に検出する方法が研究の中心であり、植物病害状態のフェノタイピングに該当する。

Code and data availability

The paper's hybrid autofluorescence/optoacoustic imaging data, images, and MATLAB/ImageJ analysis are not publicly deposited; the Data Availability Statement states content is available only from the corresponding author on request. No public repository, code URL, or dataset link for the paper-specific phenotyping data

No evidence-backed public reproduction asset is currently recorded.