(Web Desk) - Researchers at the Salk Institute are pioneering efforts to engineer climate-resilient plants in a bid to combat climate change and curb the escalating global temperature.
Scientists are enhancing root systems to store carbon more effectively and for extended durations by leveraging plants' innate ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
At the forefront of this initiative is the development of SLEAP, an innovative artificial intelligence program originally devised to track animal movements in laboratory settings.
Adapted for plant research by Salk Fellow Talmo Pereira in collaboration with Professor Wolfgang Busch, SLEAP enables the comprehensive monitoring of various root growth characteristics crucial for carbon sequestration.
Through utilizing SLEAP, scientists have meticulously examined root phenotypes, unraveling intricate details such as root depth, width, and other physical attributes previously challenging to detect.
This breakthrough has facilitated the creation of an extensive catalog of plant root system phenotypes, empowering researchers to identify genes associated with desirable traits essential for designing climate-resilient plants.
Elizabeth Berrigan, a bioinformatics analyst involved in the study, emphasized the efficiency and accessibility of the protocol developed for SLEAP, which significantly reduces analysis time and minimizes human error.
Moreover, the team has made the SLEAP toolkit, named sleap-roots, readily available as open-source software, enhancing its applicability across various plant species.
The efficacy of the SLEAP-based approach was underscored by its outperformance of previous methods across multiple plant species, including model organisms like Arabidopsis thaliana and agricultural staples such as canola, rice, and soybeans.
Notably, the SLEAP-based methodology demonstrated superior speed and accuracy in annotating, training AI models, and predicting plant structures, heralding a new era in plant research.
Salk Fellow Talmo Pereira said, “This collaboration is truly a testament to what makes Salk science so special and impactful. We’re not just ‘borrowing’ from different disciplines—we’re really putting them on equal footing to create something greater than the sum of its parts.”
The integration of genotype and phenotype data is deemed indispensable for engineering plants with enhanced carbon storage capabilities.
By seamlessly linking desirable phenotypes with targetable genes, researchers aim to expedite the development of plants with deeper and more robust root systems, crucial for long-term carbon sequestration.
Pereira emphasized the emphasis on reproducibility and accessibility in developing SLEAP and sleap-roots, with both tools freely available for global application.
The researchers are exploring collaborations with NASA scientists to utilize these tools for studying plants in space and aiding carbon-sequestering efforts on Earth, underscoring the potential global impact of their work.
Salk colleague Professor Wolfgang Busch said, “We have already been able to create the most extensive catalog of plant root system phenotypes to date, which is really accelerating our research to create carbon-capturing plants that fight climate change. SLEAP has been so easy to apply and use, thanks to Talmo’s professional software design, and it will be an indispensable tool in my lab moving forward.”