385 D. Barh et al. (eds.), PlantOmics: The Omics of Plant Science,
DOI 10.1007/978-81-322-2172-2_13, © Springer India 2015
Contents
Introduction ............................................................ 386
Phenotype: Interaction Between Genotype
and Environment ...................................................... 387
Phenomics ............................................................... 387
Forward Phenomics vs Reverse Phenomics ............. 388
Techniques Used in Plant Phenomics ...................... 388
Visible Light (Monochromatic or Color)
Imaging ................................................................ 388
Infrared and Hyperspectral Imaging .................... 391
Fluorescence Imaging .......................................... 391
3D (Three-Dimensional) Imaging........................ 392
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)................... 392
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) ................ 392
Field-Based Plant Phenomics .................................. 393
Field-Based Phenotyping Using Static
Sensor or Movable Vehicle .................................. 393
Application of Phenomics in Agricultural
Research ................................................................... 394
Screening for Abiotic Stress Tolerance-
Related Traits ....................................................... 394
Measuring Levels of Salinity Tolerance............... 395
Measuring Drought Tolerance-Related Traits ...... 395
Biotic Stress Tolerance......................................... 397
Measuring Yield and Quality-Related Traits........ 397
Role of Bioinformatics in Phenomics ...................... 398
Data Handling and Management ......................... 398
Image Analysis Software and Platforms .................. 401
Limitations and Future Perspectives ........................ 402
References ............................................................... 404
Abstract
To meet the challenges of global food security
in the changing climatic scenario, it would be
most imperative to enhance crop productivity
under resource competence. It is estimated that
approximately 70 % of reduction in crop yield
is due to the direct impact of abiotic stresses
such as drought, salinity, and extreme tempera-
tures. In the present context, one of the major
challenges is large-scale screening of crop per-
formance as a consequence of its genetic
makeup. The development of advanced bio-
technological and next-generation sequencing
tools has lead to the accumulation of enormous
data on genomics; nevertheless, data on pheno-
type and functions is yet to be fully annotated.
To exploit the wealth of large-scale genomic
data sets, it is necessary to characterize the
crop performance quantitatively and link it to
the genomic data. High-throughput phenomics
studies offer strategies to screen large-scale
population (s) for a particular phenotype
employing advanced robotics, high-tech sen-
sors, imaging systems, and computing power.
Advanced bioinformatics tools further facilitate
the analysis of large-scale multi-dimensional,
H. Rahman, Ph.D. (*) • V. Ramanathan, Ph.D.
N. Jagadeeshselvam, Ph.D. • S. Ramasamy, Ph.D.
S. Rajendran, Ph.D. • M. Ramachandran, Ph.D.
S. Natesan, Ph.D. • R. Muthurajan, Ph.D.
Centre for Plant Molecular Biology
and Biotechnology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural
University, Coimbatore 641 003, India
e-mail: rahman.biotech@gmail.com
P.D.V.N. Sudheer, Ph.D. • S. Chauhan, Ph.D.
Department of Chemical and Biochemical
Engineering, Dongguk University,
Seoul 100-715, South Korea
Phenomics: Technologies
and Applications in Plant
and Agriculture
Hifzur Rahman, Valarmathi Ramanathan,
N. Jagadeeshselvam, Sasikala Ramasamy,
Sathishraj Rajendran, Mahendran Ramachandran,
Pamidimarri D.V.N. Sudheer, Sushma Chauhan,
Senthil Natesan, and Raveendran Muthurajan