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At least 631 records · Page 35

Variation in Gene Expression between Two Sorghum bicolor Lines Differing in Innate Immunity Response

Microbe associated molecular pattern (MAMPs) triggered immunity (MTI) is a key component of the plant innate immunity response to microbial recognition. However, most of our current knowledge of MTI comes from model plants (i.e., Arabidopsis thaliana) with comparatively less work done using crop plants. In this work, we studied the MAMP triggered oxidative burst (ROS) and the transcriptional response in two Sorghum bicolor genotypes, BTx623 and SC155-14E. SC155-14E is a line that shows high anthracnose resistance and the line BTx623 is susceptible to anthracnose. Our results revealed a clear variation in gene expression and ROS in response to either flagellin (flg22) or chitin elicitation between the two lines. While the transcriptional response to each MAMP and in each line was unique there was a considerable degree of overlap, and we were able to define a core set of genes associated with the sorghum MAMP transcriptional response. The GO term and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis discovered more immunity and pathogen resistance related DEGs in MAMP treated SC155-14E samples than in BTx623 with the same treatment. The results provide a baseline for future studies to investigate innate immunity pathways in sorghum, including efforts to enhance disease resistance.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Seasonal Variation of Dust Aerosol Vertical Distribution in Arctic Based on Polarized Micropulse Lidar Measurement

This study investigates the seasonal variation of dust aerosol vertical distribution using polarized Micropulse lidar (MPL) measurements at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) North Slope of Alaska (NSA) observatory from January 2013 to September 2017. For the first time, multi-year aerosol backscatter coefficients are retrieved at the ARM NSA site from MPL measurements and are consistent with co-located high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL) measurements. The high-quality aerosol backscatter coefficient retrievals are used to derive the particle depolarization ratio (PDR) at the wavelength of 532 nm, which is used to identify the presence of dust aerosols. The annual cycles of the vertical distributions of dust backscatter coefficient and PDR and dust aerosol optical depth (DAOD) show that aerosol loading has a maximum in late winter and early spring but a minimum in late summer and early autumn. Vertically, dust aerosol occurs in the entire troposphere in spring and winter and in the low and middle troposphere in summer and autumn. Because dust aerosols are effective ice nuclei, the seasonality of dust aerosol vertical distribution has important implications for the Arctic climate through aerosol–cloud–radiation interactions, primarily through impacting mixed-phase cloud processes.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Characterizing Seasonal Variation of the Atmospheric Mixing Layer Height Using Machine Learning Approaches

As machine learning becomes more integrated into atmospheric science, XGBoost has gained popularity for its ability to assess the relative contributions of influencing factors in the atmospheric boundary layer height. To examine how these factors vary across seasons, a seasonal analysis is necessary. However, dividing data by season reduces the sample size, which can affect result reliability and complicate factor comparisons. To address these challenges, this study replaces default parameters with grid search optimization and incorporates cross-validation to mitigate dataset limitations. Using XGBoost with four years of data from the atmospheric radiation measurement (ARM) (Southern Great Plains (SGP) C1 site, cross-validation stabilizes correlation coefficient fluctuations from 0.3 to within 0.1. With optimized parameters, the R value can reach 0.81. Analysis of the C1 site reveals that the relative importance of different factors changes across seasons. Lower tropospheric stability (LTS, ~0.53) is the dominant factor at C1 throughout the year. However, during DJF, latent heat flux (LHF, 0.44) surpasses LTS (0.22). In SON, LTS (0.58) becomes more influential than LHF (0.18). Further comparisons among the four long-term SGP sites (C1, E32, E37, and E39) show seasonal variations in relative importance. Notably, during JJA, the differences in the relative importance of the three factors across all sites are lower than in other seasons. This suggests that boundary layer development in the summer is not dominated by a single factor, reflecting a more intricate process likely influenced by seasonal conditions such as enhanced convective activity, higher temperatures, and humidity, which collectively contribute to a balanced distribution of parameter impacts. Furthermore, the relative importance of LTS gradually increases from morning to noon, indicating that LTS becomes more significant as the boundary layer approaches its maximum height. Consequently, the LTS in the early morning in autumn exhibits greater relative importance compared to other seasons. This reflects a faster development of the mixing layer height (MLH) in autumn, suggesting that it is easier to retrieve the MLH from the previous day during this period. The findings enhance understanding of boundary layer evolution and contribute to improved boundary layer parameterization.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Dimensionality Reduction of SDSS Spectra with Variational Autoencoders

High-resolution galaxy spectra contain much information about galactic physics, but the high dimensionality of these spectra makes it difficult to fully utilize the information they contain. We apply variational autoencoders (VAEs), a nonlinear dimensionality reduction technique, to a sample of spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). In contrast to principal component analysis (PCA), a widely used technique, VAEs can capture nonlinear relationships between latent parameters and the data. We find that a VAE can reconstruct the SDSS spectra well with only six latent parameters, outperforming PCA with the same number of components. Different galaxy classes are naturally separated in this latent space, without class labels having been given to the VAE. The VAE latent space is interpretable because the VAE can be used to make synthetic spectra at any point in latent space. For example, making synthetic spectra along tracks in latent space yields sequences of realistic spectra that interpolate between two different types of galaxies. Using the latent space to find outliers may yield interesting spectra: in our small sample, we immediately find unusual data artifacts and stars misclassified as galaxies. In this exploratory work, we show that VAEs create compact, interpretable latent spaces that capture nonlinear features of the data. While a VAE takes substantial time to train (≈1 day for 48,000 spectra), once trained, VAEs can enable the fast exploration of large astronomical data sets.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Probing Transit Timing Variation and Its Possible Origin with 12 New Transits of TrES-3b

We present 12 new transit light curves of the hot-Jupiter TrES-3b observed during 2012−2018 to probe the transit timing variation (TTV). By combining the midtransit times determined from these 12 transit data with those reestimated through uniform procedure from 71 transit data available in the literature, we derive new linear ephemeris and obtain the timing residuals that suggest the possibility of TTV in the TrES-3 system. However, the frequency analysis shows that the possible TTV is unlikely to be periodic, indicating the absence of an additional body in this system. To explore the other possible origins of TTV, the orbital decay and apsidal precession ephemeris models are fitted to the transit time data. We find the decay rate of TrES-3b to be P-dot {sub q}=−4.1±3.1 ms yr{sup −1}, and the corresponding estimated modified stellar tidal quality factor of Q{sub ∗}{sup ′}∼1.11×10{sup 5} is consistent with the theoretically predicted values for the stars hosting the hot-Jupiters. The shift in the transit arrival time of TrES-3b after 11 years is expected to be T {sub shift} ∼ 69.55 s, which is consistent with the rms of the timing residuals. Besides, we find that the apsidal precession ephemeris model is statistically less probable than the other considered ephemeris models. It is also discussed that despite the fact that the linear ephemeris model appears to be the most plausible model to represent the transit time data, the possibility of the orbital decay cannot be completely ruled out in the TrES-3 system. To confirm this, further high-precision and high-cadence follow-up observation of transits of TrES-3b would be important.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Kepler-90: Giant Transit-timing Variations Reveal a Super-puff

Exoplanet transit-timing variations (TTVs) caused by gravitational forces between planets can be used to determine planetary masses and orbital parameters. Most of the observed TTVs are small and sinusoidal in time, leading to degeneracies between the masses and orbital parameters. Here we report a TTV analysis of Kepler-90g and Kepler-90h, which exhibit large TTVs up to 25 hr. With optimization, we find a unique solution that allows us to constrain all of the orbital parameters. The best-fit masses for Kepler-90g and 90h are 15.0{sub −0.8}{sup +0.9} M {sub ⊕} (Earth mass) and 203{sub −5}{sup +5}M{sub ⊕}, respectively, with Kepler-90g having an unusually low apparent density of 0.15 ± 0.05 g cm{sup −3}. The uniqueness of orbital parameter solution enables a long-term dynamical integration, which reveals that although their periods are close to 2:3 orbital resonance, they are not locked in resonance, and the configuration is stable over billions of years. The dynamical history of the system suggests that planet interactions are able to raise the eccentricities and break the resonant lock after the initial formation.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Variations in the Width, Density, and Direction of the Palomar 5 Tidal Tails

Stars that escape globular clusters form tidal tails that are predominantly shaped by the global distribution of mass in the Galaxy, but also preserve a historical record of small-scale perturbations. Using deep grz photometry from DECaLS, we present highly probable members of the tidal tails associated with the evaporating globular cluster Palomar 5. These data yield the cleanest view of a stellar stream beyond ≈20 kpc and reveal: (1) a wide, low surface-brightness extension of the leading tail; (2) significant density variations along the stream; and (3) sharp changes in the direction of both the leading and the trailing tail. In the fiducial Milky Way model, a rotating bar perturbs the Palomar 5 tails and can produce streams with similar width and density profiles to those observed. However, the deviations of the stream track in this simple model do not match those observed in the Palomar 5 trailing tail, indicating the need for an additional source of perturbation. These discoveries open up the possibility of measuring the population of perturbers in the Milky Way, including dark-matter subhalos, with an ensemble of stellar streams and deep photometry alone.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Understanding Type Ia Supernova Distance Biases by Simulating Spectral Variations

In the next decade, transient searches from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will increase the sample of known Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) from ~10 3 to 10 5 . With this reduction of statistical uncertainties on cosmological measurements, new methods are needed to reduce systematic uncertainties. Here, characterizing the underlying spectroscopic evolution of SN Ia remains a major systematic uncertainty in current cosmological analyses, motivating a new simulation tool for the next era of SN Ia cosmology: Build Your Own Spectral Energy Distribution (byosed). byosed is used within the SNANA framework to simulate light curves by applying spectral variations to model SEDs, enabling flexible testing of possible systematic shifts in SN Ia distance measurements. We test the framework by comparing a nominal Roman SN Ia survey simulation using a baseline SED model to simulations using SEDs perturbed with byosed, and investigating the impact of ignoring specific SED features in the analysis. These features include semiempirical models of two possible, predicted relationships: between SN ejecta velocity and light-curve observables, and a redshift-dependent relationship between SN Hubble residuals and host-galaxy mass. We analyze each byosed simulation using the SALT2 and BEAMS with Bias Corrections framework, and estimate changes in the measured value of the dark-energy equation-of-state parameter, w. We find a difference of Δw = –0.023 for SN velocity and Δw = 0.021 for redshift-evolving host mass when compared to simulations without these features. By using byosed for SN Ia cosmology simulations, future analyses (e.g., the Rubin and Roman SN Ia samples) will have greater flexibility to constrain or reduce such SN Ia modeling uncertainties.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Angular Momentum Variation of the Milky Way Thick Disk: The Dependence of Chemical Abundance and Evidence of the Inside-out Formation Scenario

We investigate the angular momentum of mono-abundance populations (MAPs) of the Milky Way thick disk by using a sample of 26,076 giant stars taken from APOGEE Data Release (DR) 17 and Gaia early DR3. The vertical and perpendicular angular momentum components, L Z and L P , of the MAPs in narrow bins have significant variations across the [α/M]–[M/H] plane. L Z and L P systematically change with [M/H] and [α/M] and can be alternatively quantified by the chemical gradients: d[M/H]/dL Z = 1.2 × 10 -3 dex kpc -1 km -1 s, d[M/H]/dL P = -5.0 × 10 -3 dec kpc -1 km -1 s, and d[α/M]/dL Z = -3.0 × 10 -4 dex kpc -1 km -1 s, d[α/M]/dL P = 1.2 × 10 -3 dec kpc -1 km -1 s. These correlations can also be explained as the chemical dependence of the spatial distribution shape of the MAPs. We also exhibit the corresponding age dependence of the angular momentum components. Under the assumption that the guiding radius (R g ) is proportional to L Z , this provides direct observational evidence of the inside-out structure formation scenario of the thick disk, with dR g /dAge = -1.9 kpc Gyr -1 . The progressive changes in the disk thickness can be explained by the upside-down formation or/and the consequent kinematical heating.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

High-precision Galaxy Clustering Predictions from Small-volume Hydrodynamical Simulations via Control Variates

Abstract Cosmological simulations of galaxy formation are an invaluable tool for understanding galaxy formation and its impact on cosmological parameter inference from large-scale structures. However, their high computational cost is a significant obstacle for running simulations that probe cosmological volumes comparable to those analyzed by contemporary large-scale structure experiments. In this work, we explore the possibility of obtaining high-precision galaxy clustering predictions from small-volume hydrodynamical simulations such as MillenniumTNG and FLAMINGO via control variates. In this approach, the hydrodynamical full-physics simulation is paired with a matched low-resolution gravity-only simulation. By learning the galaxy–halo connection from the hydrodynamical simulation and applying it to the gravity-only counterpart, one obtains a galaxy population that closely mimics the one in the more expensive simulation. One can then construct an estimator of galaxy clustering that combines the clustering amplitudes in the small-volume hydrodynamical and gravity-only simulations with clustering amplitudes in a large-volume gravity-only simulation. Depending on the galaxy sample, clustering statistic, and scale, this galaxy clustering estimator can have an effective volume of up to around 100 times the volume of the original hydrodynamical simulation in the nonlinear regime. With this approach, we can construct galaxy clustering predictions from existing simulations that are precise enough for mock analyses of next-generation large-scale structure surveys such as the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument and the Legacy Survey of Space and Time.

Doytcheva, Alexandra (ORCID:0009000111254888)↗

Subgrid-scale horizontal and vertical variation of cloud water in stratocumulus clouds: a case study based on LES and comparisons with in situ observations

Abstract. Stratocumulus clouds in the marine boundary layer cover a large fraction of ocean surface and play an important role in the radiative energy balance of the Earth system. Simulating these clouds in Earth system models (ESMs) has proven to be extremely challenging, in part because cloud microphysical processes such as the autoconversion of cloud water into precipitation occur at scales much smaller than typical ESM grid sizes. An accurate autoconversion parameterization needs to account for not only the local microphysical process (e.g., the dependence on cloud water content qc and cloud droplet number concentration Nc) but also the subgrid-scale variability of the cloud properties that determine the process rate. Accounting for subgrid-scale variability is often achieved by the introduction of a so-called enhancement factor E. Previous studies of E for autoconversion have focused more on its dependence on cloud regime and ESM grid size, but they have largely overlooked the vertical dependence of E within the cloud. In this study, we use a large-eddy simulation (LES) model, initialized and constrained with in situ and surface-based measurements from a recent airborne field campaign, to characterize the vertical dependence of the horizontal variation of qc in stratocumulus clouds and the implications for E. Similar to our recent observational study (Zhang et al., 2021), we found that the inverse relative variance of qc, an index of horizontal homogeneity, generally increases from cloud base upward through the lower two-thirds of the cloud and then decreases in the uppermost one-third of the cloud. As a result, E decreases from cloud base upward and then increases towards the cloud top. We apply a decomposition analysis to the LES cloud water field to understand the relative roles of the mean and variances of qc in determining the vertical dependence of E. Our analysis reveals that the vertical dependence of the horizontal qc variability and enhancement factor E is a combined result of condensational growth throughout the lower portion of the cloud and entrainment mixing at cloud top. The findings of this study indicate that a vertically dependent E should be used in ESM autoconversion parameterizations.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Impacts of land use change and elevated CO 2 on the interannual variations and seasonal cycles of gross primary productivity in China

Climate change, rising CO 2 concentration, and landuse and land cover change (LULCC) are primary driving forces for terrestrialgross primary productivity (GPP), but their impacts on the temporal changesin GPP are uncertain. In this study, the effects of the three main factorson the interannual variation (IAV) and seasonal cycle amplitude (SCA) of GPPin China were investigated using 12 terrestrial biosphere models from theMulti-scale Synthesis and Terrestrial Model Intercomparison Project. Thesimulated ensemble mean value of China's GPP between 1981 and 2010, drivenby common climate forcing, LULCC and CO 2 data, was found to be7.4±1.8 Pg C yr -1 . In general, climate was the dominant controlfactor of the annual trends, IAV and seasonality of China's GPP. Theoverall rising CO2 led to enhanced plant photosynthesis, thusincreasing annual mean and IAV of China's total GPP, especially innortheastern and southern China, where vegetation is dense. LULCC decreasedthe IAV of China's total GPP by ~7%, whereas rising CO 2 induced an increase of 8 %. Compared to climate change andelevated CO 2 , LULCC showed less contributions to GPP's temporalvariation, and its impact acted locally, mainly in southwestern China.Furthermore, this study also examined subregional contributions to thetemporal changes in China's total GPP. Southern and southeastern Chinashowed higher contributions to China's annual GPP, whereas southwestern andcentral parts of China explained larger fractions of the IAV in China's GPP.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Efficient high-dimensional variational data assimilation with machine-learned reduced-order models

Abstract. Data assimilation (DA) in geophysical sciences remains the cornerstone of robust forecasts from numerical models. Indeed, DA plays a crucial role in the quality of numerical weather prediction and is a crucial building block that has allowed dramatic improvements in weather forecasting over the past few decades. DA is commonly framed in a variational setting, where one solves an optimization problem within a Bayesian formulation using raw model forecasts as a prior and observations as likelihood. This leads to a DA objective function that needs to be minimized, where the decision variables are the initial conditions specified to the model. In traditional DA, the forward model is numerically and computationally expensive. Here we replace the forward model with a low-dimensional, data-driven, and differentiable emulator. Consequently, gradients of our DA objective function with respect to the decision variables are obtained rapidly via automatic differentiation. We demonstrate our approach by performing an emulator-assisted DA forecast of geopotential height. Our results indicate that emulator-assisted DA is faster than traditional equation-based DA forecasts by 4 orders of magnitude, allowing computations to be performed on a workstation rather than a dedicated high-performance computer. In addition, we describe accuracy benefits of emulator-assisted DA when compared to simply using the emulator for forecasting (i.e., without DA). Our overall formulation is denoted AIEADA (Artificial Intelligence Emulator-Assisted Data Assimilation).

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Block-structured, equal-workload, multi-grid-nesting interface for the Boussinesq wave model FUNWAVE-TVD (Total Variation Diminishing)

Abstract. We describe the development of a block-structured, equal-CPU-load (central processing unit), multi-grid-nesting interface for the Boussinesq wave model FUNWAVE-TVD (Fully Nonlinear Boussinesq Wave Model with Total Variation Diminishing Solver). The new model framework does not interfere with the core solver, and thus the core program, FUNWAVE-TVD, is still a standalone model used for a single grid. The nesting interface manages the time sequencing and two-way nesting processes between the parent grid and child grid with grid refinement in a hierarchical manner. Workload balance in the MPI-based (message passing interface) parallelization is handled by an equal-load scheme. A strategy of shared array allocation is applied for data management that allows for a large number of nested grids without creating additional memory allocations. Four model tests are conducted to verify the nesting algorithm with assessments of model accuracy and the robustness in the application in modeling transoceanic tsunamis and coastal effects.

Choi, Young-Kwang↗

Data and Code for: Observation-constrained agroecosystem model inversion reveals continental-scale variation of winter wheat traits

This repository contains the simulation outputs and processing scripts associated with the study of winter wheat traits across the United States, utilizing the Ecosys agroecosystem model. The dataset includes model results for both rainfed and irrigated winter wheat systems, supporting the findings presented in the manuscript titled "Observation-constrained agroecosystem model inversion reveals continental-scale variation of winter wheat traits." Data includes the original Ecosys simulation outputs (archived in .db format within the compressed .zip files) and extracted analysis data (stored in .pkl files for efficient processing). Python code for data processing and figure generation is provided in a Jupyter notebook. External Observational Datasets should refer to the following official repositories for the input and validation data used in this study. The eddy covariance data from the AmeriFlux network (https://ameriflux.lbl.gov/). Climate-forcing data of NLDAS-2 from NASA LDAS (https://ldas.gsfc.nasa.gov/nldas/nldas-2-forcing-data). Soil data from the Gridded Soil Survey Geographic Database (gSSURGO), available at (https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/data-and-reports/gridded-soil-survey-geographic-gssurgo-database). Crop yields, planting and harvest dates from the USDA public databases (https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/; https://webapp.rma.usda.gov/apps/actuarialinformationbrowser/CropCriteria.aspx). Satellite-derived SLOPE GPP data from ORNL DAAC (https://daac.ornl.gov/cgi-bin/dsviewer.pl?ds_id=1786). Land use and crop progress information from the USDA Crop Data Layer and Crop Progress and Condition Gridded Layers (https://www.nass.usda.gov/Research_and_Science/). The Ecosys model code is available online at https://github.com/jinyun1tang/ECOSYS.

Wheat↗

Panama Rainforest Changes with Experimental Drought (PaRChED): Initial Effects of Partial Throughfall Exclusion on Soil Dynamics in Lowland Forests Across Variation in Rainfall and Soil Fertility

Changes in rainfall are predicted across tropical regions, with effects on nutrient, water, and carbon cycling. This chapter summarizes results from the first two years of a throughfall exclusion experiment in four lowland Panamanian forests that span a 1,000-mm change in rainfall and variation in soil fertility. Soil respiration (i.e., soil carbon dioxide [CO2 ] flux) declined with throughfall exclusion, with a site*season interaction, and the radiocarbon age of respired carbon was older in exclusion versus control plots. The decline in soil CO2 flux could be related to reduced fine root production and soil microbial biomass. Microbial community composition also changed with throughfall exclusion in infertile soils, and soil nutrients accumulated more in exclusion versus control plots during the dry season. The net effects on soil carbon storage will depend on the relative strengths of these effects over time. Continued research could improve predictions of tropical forest-climate feedbacks with changes in precipitation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

State and Regional Variation in Prescription- and Payment-Related Promoters of Adherence to Blood Pressure Medication

Introduction: Medication adherence can improve hypertension management. How blood pressure medications are prescribed and purchased can promote or impede adherence. Methods: We used comprehensive dispensing data on prescription blood pressure medication from Symphony Health’s 2017 Integrated Dataverse to assess how prescription- and payment-related factors that promote medication adherence (ie, fixed-dose combinations, generic formulations, mail order, low-cost or no-copay medications) vary across US states and census regions and across the market segments (grouped by patient age, prescriber type, and payer type) responsible for the greatest number of blood pressure medication fills. Results: In 2017, 706.5 million prescriptions for blood pressure medication were filled, accounting for $29.0 billion in total spending (17.0% incurred by patients). As a proportion of all fills, factors that promoted adherence varied by state: fixed-dose combinations (from 5.8% in Maine to 17.9% in Mississippi); generic formulations (from 95.2% in New Jersey to 98.4% in Minnesota); mail order (from 4.7% in Rhode Island to 14.5% in Delaware); and lower or no copayment (from 56.6% in Utah to 72.8% in California). Furthermore, mean days’ supply per fill (from 43.1 in Arkansas to 63.8 in Maine) and patient spending per therapy year (from $38 in Hawaii to $76 in Georgia) varied. Concentration of adherence factors differed by market segment. Patients aged 18 to 64 with a primary care physician prescriber and Medicaid coverage had the lowest concentration of fixed-dose combination fills, mean days’ supply per fill, and patient spending per therapy year. Patients aged 65 years or older with a primary care physician prescriber and commercial insurance had the highest concentration of fixeddose combinations fills and mail order fills. Conclusion: Addressing regional and market segment variation in factors promoting blood pressure medication adherence may increase adherence and improve hypertension management.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Uncovering natural variation in root system architecture and growth dynamics using a robotics-assisted phenomics platform

The plant kingdom contains a stunning array of complex morphologies easily observed above-ground, but more challenging to visualize below-ground. Understanding the magnitude of diversity in root distribution within the soil, termed root system architecture (RSA), is fundamental in determining how this trait contributes to species adaptation in local environments. Roots are the interface between the soil environment and the shoot system and therefore play a key role in anchorage, resource uptake, and stress resilience. Previously, we presented the GLO-Roots (Growth and Luminescence Observatory for Roots) system to study the RSA of soil-grown Arabidopsis thaliana plants from germination to maturity (Rellán-Álvarez et al., 2015). In this study, we present the automation of GLO-Roots using robotics and the development of image analysis pipelines in order to examine the temporal dynamic regulation of RSA and the broader natural variation of RSA in Arabidopsis , over time. These datasets describe the developmental dynamics of two independent panels of accessions and reveal highly complex and polygenic RSA traits that show significant correlation with climate variables of the accessions’ respective origins.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗