Early characterization method of plant root adaptability to soil environments

This paper reports an on-chip analytical method for studying physical mechanisms of plant root growth in soil environments. To quantitatively evaluate physical interaction between root and soil, we developed a silicon-based microchannel device integrated with force displacement sensor which mimics a barrier in soil. By using developed microsystem, we successfully characterized the driving forces of root growth in three kinds of plants including Arabidopsis thaliana, which is known as a model organism. This analytical method allows us to efficiently characterize potential adaptability of root system to soil environments at early growth stage. The gaining knowledge might contribute for breed improvement, in terms of increasing crop productivity and plant biomass.