direct-infusion-device-for-molecule-delivery-in-plants

Direct Infusion Device for Molecule Delivery in Plants

Testing the function of therapeutic compounds in plants is an important component of agricultural research. Foliar and soil-drench methods are routine but ...

United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory

Anther and microspore culture for producing haploid plants are very complex systems and include general effects where the specific effects must be identified and optimized to develop culture systems capable of producing the large numbers of haploids required by breeding programs. These general effects include genotype, physiological state of the source plant, age of the anthers and microspores, preculture treatments, culture conditions, and culture media. Design of experiments (DoE) is an experimental approach specifically designed to identify and optimize the multiple factors that make up complex systems, and is ideally suited for developing in vitro systems to produce haploids. The basic DoE strategy starts by screening multiple factors thought to affect the responses being measured. Screening identifies factors with large and small effects. Factors with large effects are used to manipulate the system, and are moved to the DoE optimization phase such as response surface methodology. Factors with small or trivial effects are eliminated from further consideration, and this simplifies the system. The basic concepts of fractional factorial designs and how to use them are explained. Fractional factorials are the most important DoE screening tool and are the first experiments run before DoE optimization experiments. To illustrate the unique properties of fractional factorials, a detailed example is provided that includes all of the calculations so that no statistical software is required.

Fractional Factorial Designs: An Underutilized Tool for Rapid In Vitro System Development.

Huanglongbing (HLB), referred to as citrus greening disease, is a bacterial disease impacting citrus production worldwide and fatal in young trees and certain varieties. In some areas, the disease is devastating the citrus industry. A successful solution to HLB will be measured in economics: Citrus growers need treatments that improve tree health, fruit production, and most importantly economic yield. The profitability of citrus groves is the ultimate metric that truly matters when searching for solutions to HLB. Scientific approaches used in the laboratory, greenhouse, or field trials are critical to discovery of those solutions and to estimate the likelihood of success of a treatment aimed for commercialization. Researchers and the citrus industry use a number of proxy evaluations of potential HLB solutions and understanding the strengths and limitations of each assay as well as how best to compare different assays is critical for decision making to advance therapies into field trials and commercialization. This perspective aims to help the reader compare and understand the limitations of different proxy evaluation systems based on the treatment and evaluation under consideration. The researcher must determine the suitability of one or more of these metrics to identify treatments and predict the usefulness of these treatments in having an eventual impact on citrus production and HLB mitigation. As therapies advance to field trials in the next few years, a re-evaluation of these metrics will be useful to guide future research efforts on strategies to mitigate HLB and vascular bacterial pathogens in other perennial crops.

A perspective on current therapeutic molecule screening methods against 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus', the presumed causative agent of citrus Huanglongbing.

Randall P. Niedz

United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory

Direct Infusion Device for Molecule Delivery in Plants