TY  - JOUR
TI  - Lodicule Isolation and Morphometric Analysis During Rice Floret Opening
AU  - Hu, Yuan 
AU  - Cui, Song 
AU  - Li, Haishen 
AU  - Hou, Haigang 
AU  - Xu, Zhuang 
AU  - Hao, Benyuan 
AU  - Cai, Liang 
AU  - Zhu, Liang 
AU  - Wang, Jie 
AU  - Chang, Kongyou 
AU  - Li, Wen 
AU  - Shao, Weihao 
AU  - Zhu, Shanshan 
AU  - Li, Chao 
AU  - Zhao, Zhigang 
AU  - Jiang, Ling 
AU  - Tian, Yunlu 
AU  - Liu, Xi 
AU  - Liu, Shijia 
AU  - Chen, Liangming 
AU  - Zhou, Shirong 
AU  - Wan, Jianmin 
VL  - 16
IS  - 13
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/05
SP  - e5721
C1  - Bio-protocol 2026;16:e5721
DO  - 10.21769/BioProtoc.5721
UR  - https://doi.org/10.21769/BioProtoc.5721
AB  - Rice lodicules are specialized floral organs located at the base of the ovary that undergo dynamic morphological changes during the flowering period. Water uptake–driven swelling and subsequent dehydration-induced shrinkage of the lodicules trigger floret opening and closure, respectively. Although lodicules play a central role in floret movement, standardized methods for quantitatively monitoring their temporal morphological changes remain limited. Here, we describe a detailed and reproducible workflow for lodicule sampling, dissection, imaging, and quantitative morphometric analysis. Florets are collected at predefined clock time points during the flowering period, and lodicules are carefully isolated under a stereomicroscope. High-resolution imaging is performed under consistent acquisition settings, followed by precise measurement of lodicule length, width, and thickness using image analysis software. This protocol emphasizes positional consistency in sampling, uniform imaging parameters, and standardized data analysis to enhance reproducibility. This method is suitable for evaluating the effects of genetic background or environmental conditions on lodicule morphology. By providing a standardized analytical framework, this protocol enables accurate and quantitative morphometric analysis of rice lodicules during floret opening.
KW  - Rice floret
KW  - Lodicule imaging
KW  - Lodicule morphometry
KW  - Time-course imaging
KW  - Morphometric analysis
JF  - Bio-protocol
SN  - 2331-8325
PB  - Bio-protocol LLC.
BIO101  - False