Efficient production system for hydrogel-based transparent soil for plant root observation
Observation of plant root morphology in soil is of fundamental importance in plant research, but the lack of transparency of the soil hampers direct observation of roots. One of the approaches to overcome this technical limitation is the use of “transparent soil” (TS), hydrogel-based beads produced...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | BioTechniques |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/07366205.2025.2457892 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832576210723405824 |
|---|---|
| author | Naoyuki Sotta Wenhao Li Toru Fujiwara |
| author_facet | Naoyuki Sotta Wenhao Li Toru Fujiwara |
| author_sort | Naoyuki Sotta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Observation of plant root morphology in soil is of fundamental importance in plant research, but the lack of transparency of the soil hampers direct observation of roots. One of the approaches to overcome this technical limitation is the use of “transparent soil” (TS), hydrogel-based beads produced by spherification of gelling agents. However, the production of TS by natural dripping of gelling solution can be labor intensive, time consuming and difficult to maintain consistent product quality. Here we present a semi-automated system for TS production. A three-channel peristatic pump controls the critical parameters for spherification, such as drop height and ionic strength, allowing larger-scale TS production with less manual operation. This system improves the efficiency of experiments using TS and enables large-scale experiments requiring large amounts of TS. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7f6d849936074e22a3d89fd262f5b0cd |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0736-6205 1940-9818 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BioTechniques |
| spelling | doaj-art-7f6d849936074e22a3d89fd262f5b0cd2025-01-31T10:12:59ZengTaylor & Francis GroupBioTechniques0736-62051940-98182025-01-011510.1080/07366205.2025.2457892Efficient production system for hydrogel-based transparent soil for plant root observationNaoyuki Sotta0Wenhao Li1Toru Fujiwara2Department of Agricultural Biology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, JapanDepartment of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, JapanDepartment of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, JapanObservation of plant root morphology in soil is of fundamental importance in plant research, but the lack of transparency of the soil hampers direct observation of roots. One of the approaches to overcome this technical limitation is the use of “transparent soil” (TS), hydrogel-based beads produced by spherification of gelling agents. However, the production of TS by natural dripping of gelling solution can be labor intensive, time consuming and difficult to maintain consistent product quality. Here we present a semi-automated system for TS production. A three-channel peristatic pump controls the critical parameters for spherification, such as drop height and ionic strength, allowing larger-scale TS production with less manual operation. This system improves the efficiency of experiments using TS and enables large-scale experiments requiring large amounts of TS.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/07366205.2025.2457892Automationhydrogelnondestructive observationplant cultureroot system architecturespherification |
| spellingShingle | Naoyuki Sotta Wenhao Li Toru Fujiwara Efficient production system for hydrogel-based transparent soil for plant root observation BioTechniques Automation hydrogel nondestructive observation plant culture root system architecture spherification |
| title | Efficient production system for hydrogel-based transparent soil for plant root observation |
| title_full | Efficient production system for hydrogel-based transparent soil for plant root observation |
| title_fullStr | Efficient production system for hydrogel-based transparent soil for plant root observation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Efficient production system for hydrogel-based transparent soil for plant root observation |
| title_short | Efficient production system for hydrogel-based transparent soil for plant root observation |
| title_sort | efficient production system for hydrogel based transparent soil for plant root observation |
| topic | Automation hydrogel nondestructive observation plant culture root system architecture spherification |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/07366205.2025.2457892 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT naoyukisotta efficientproductionsystemforhydrogelbasedtransparentsoilforplantrootobservation AT wenhaoli efficientproductionsystemforhydrogelbasedtransparentsoilforplantrootobservation AT torufujiwara efficientproductionsystemforhydrogelbasedtransparentsoilforplantrootobservation |