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High dimensional phenomics and automation to transform domestication of new crops
  • +7
  • Matthew Rubin,
  • Jared Crain,
  • Lee Dehaan,
  • Luis Diaz-Garcia,
  • Jenna Hershberger,
  • Jesse Poland,
  • Brandon Schlautman,
  • Kathryn Turner,
  • David Van Tassel,
  • Allison Miller
Matthew Rubin
Danforth Plant Science Center

Corresponding Author:mrubin@danforthcenter.org

Author Profile
Jared Crain
Kansas State University
Lee Dehaan
The Land Institute
Luis Diaz-Garcia
University of California Davis
Jenna Hershberger
Clemson University
Jesse Poland
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
Brandon Schlautman
The Land Institute
Kathryn Turner
The Land Institute
David Van Tassel
The Land Institute
Allison Miller
Saint Louis University, Danforth Plant Science Center

Abstract

The majority of domesticated plant species are herbaceous annuals and woody perennials, yet many herbaceous perennial species hold potential for future agricultural systems. In addition to multiyear harvests, herbaceous perennials provide many ecosystem services, including erosion control as a result of their large and persistent root systems. However, the multiyear lifespan of perennial species has been a barrier to rapid domestication as breeding cycles require phenotyping over multiple growing seasons. Using phenomic selection, high-dimensional secondary traits measured on seedlings could be used to develop relationship matrices among individuals which are then used to predict field traits. Additionally, these models can serve as the selection criteria to identify individuals to advance to the next (pre)breeding generation, thus shortening the breeding cycle. This project substitutes costly genomics data with high-dimensional phenomics data asking: Can elite individuals of perennial species be predicted by phenomic relatedness models based on high-dimensional traits recorded on seedlings? To date, we have imaged 2280 seedlings from each of the following three perennial crop candidate species: intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium), sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia), and silphium (Silphium integrifolium) on the Bellwether Foundation Phenotyping Facility housed at the Danforth Center. The images were processed using PlantCV to generate high-dimensional color and near-infrared profiles for each plant on each image day. Additionally, profiles were generated with handheld spectrometers. This work re-imagines innovations in plant traits, kinship matrices, genomic selection, phenotyping centers, and ultimately domestication, in order to expedite the development of an emerging generation of climate resilient, ecologically sustainable crops.
28 Oct 2022Submitted to NAPPN 2023 Abstracts
29 Oct 2022Published in NAPPN 2023 Abstracts