TY  - JOUR
TI  - Synchronizing Germination Rates Across Plant Species for Fabricated Ecosystems EcoFAB 2.0
AU  - Charbeaux, Romane S. F.
AU  - Waymouth, Vicky J.
AU  - Calabria, Jacob 
AU  - Miller, Troy 
AU  - Andeer, Peter 
AU  - Watt, Michelle 
VL  - 15
IS  - 23
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/05
SP  - e5537
C1  - Bio-protocol 2025;15:e5537
DO  - 10.21769/BioProtoc.5537
UR  - https://doi.org/10.21769/BioProtoc.5537
AB  - Roots are essential organs for plants, facilitating water and nutrient uptake from the soil to support growth. Traditional methods for studying root systems, such as rhizoboxes and rhizotrons, have provided valuable insights. However, advanced methods such as fabricated ecosystems (EcoFAB) combined with new generation microscopes now enable a more detailed investigation of the rhizosphere, the microenvironment surrounding roots, allowing a deeper understanding of root tissue, exudates, and plant–soil interactions. This microenvironment can be used to investigate the adaptation of plants to environmental stress (salinity, drought, higher temperatures). Our procedure focuses on establishing standardized protocols for plant growth tailored to the EcoFAB system, which offers a controlled environment to study root dynamics. This work also contributes new insights into the early stages of plant germination, an area currently underexplored in the literature. While numerous studies focus on plant growth or genetic aspects, such as gene induction, the germination phase remains underexplored. We have developed optimized germination protocols for multiple plant species, ensuring uniform seedling size and sufficient development for seamless integration into the EcoFAB system.
KW  - Fabricated ecosystem
KW  - Live root imaging
KW  - Gnotobiotic
KW  - Germination
KW  - Arabidopsis thaliana
KW  - Fragaria vesca
KW  - Lactuca sativa
JF  - Bio-protocol
SN  - 2331-8325
PB  - Bio-protocol LLC.
BIO101  - False