Publications [#221197] of John Harer

Papers Published

1. Christopher N Topp, Anjali S Iyer-Pascuzzi, Jill T Anderson, Cheng-Ruei Lee, Paul R Zurek, Olga Symonova, Ying Zheng, Alexander Bucksch, Yuriy Milyeko, Taras Galkovskyi, Brad Moore, John Harer, Herbert Edelsbrunner, Thomas Mitchell Olds, Joshua S Weitz, Philip N Benfey, 3-dimensional phenotyping of growing root systems combined with QTL mapping identifies core regions of the rice genome controlling root architecture, PNAS (2013) (http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/04/10/1304354110.abstract.)
   (last updated on 2013/12/22)

   Abstract:
   Identification of genes that control root system architecture in crop plants requires innovations that enable high-throughput and accurate measurements of root system architecture through time. We demonstrate the ability of a semiautomated 3D in vivo imaging and digital phenotyping pipeline to interrogate the quantitative genetic basis of root system growth in a rice biparental mapping population, Bala × Azucena. We phenotyped >1,400 3D root models and >57,000 2D images for a suite of 25 traits that quantified the distribution, shape, extent of exploration, and the intrinsic size of root networks at days 12, 14, and 16 of growth in a gellan gum medium. From these data we identified 89 quantitative trait loci, some of which correspond to those found previously in soil-grown plants, and provide evidence for genetic tradeoffs in root growth allocations, such as between the extent and thoroughness of exploration. We also developed a multivariate method for generating and mapping central root architecture phenotypes and used it to identify five major quantitative trait loci (r2 = 24–37%), two of which were not identified by our univariate analysis. Our imaging and analytical platform provides a means to identify genes with high potential for improving root traits and agronomic qualities of crops.