Work

Multi-facility, high-temporal-resolution phenomics of growth–defence allocation responses in potato

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Fitness costs of plant disease defence are often subtle and difficult to quantify. In this study, we therefore used comparative high-throughput phenotyping in two independent facilities to assess growth, morphology and physiology of potato (cv. Désirée) with high time-resolution monitoring different defence mechanisms under pathogen-free conditions. Plants were either treated weekly with the resistance inducers β-aminobutyric acid (BABA; 10 mM) or potassium phosphite (KPhi; 36 mM) or comprised six transgenic lines expressing late blight resistance genes (single Rpi genes or a three-gene stack) or reduced jasmonate perception (StCOI1-RNAi). Over four weeks, image-derived traits revealed consistent cross-facility effects for plant height and colour: BABA treatment increased plant height but reduced canopy area and induced a paler greenness signature, whereas KPhi caused minimal and transient growth effects. Chlorophyll fluorescence at the NaPPI facility indicated reduced vitality (Rfd_Lss) in BABA-treated plants and increased Rfd_Lss following KPhi, while maximum PSII efficiency was largely unchanged. Several transgenic lines showed somewhat reduced above-ground biomass. Enzyme activity profiling produced distinct treatment and genotype signatures, but was strongly modulated by facility conditions that overrode these specificities. Overall, high-throughput phenotyping robustly detected subtle growth–defence trade-offs across platforms. Highlight High-throughput optical phenotyping validated across two independent research facilities reveals that stacked resistance genes and resistance inducers in potato trigger subtle growth trade-offs. Graphical abstracts Experimental timeline for high-throughput plant phenotyping platforms. Created in BioRender. Poque, S. (2026) https://BioRender.com/nmkve7g

Source: Plant Phenomics

DOI: 10.1016/j.plaphe.2026.100297