Phenes and Phenotyping in Maize for Gene Discovery and Breeding

Plants respond dynamically to environmental cues throughout growth and development resulting in harvested yield. Novel approaches to plant phenotyping provide information on dynamic responses of plants, and provide insights into novel phenes. Early phenotypes beginning with germination and initial plant growth can be predictive of variation among genotypes at adulthood. Dynamic measurement of kernel imbibition will be provided as an example of a very early phenotype that underlies early seedling growth and thereby potentially stand establishment. Novel phenes provide the potential to identify mechanisms of productivity and stress response. Laser-assisted ablation tomography is a technology for high-throughput analysis of field-grown roots providing new insights into mechanisms of abiotic stress-tolerance in maize. These approaches are examples of possibilities in the emerging area of plant phenotyping. An emerging U.S. initiative, Genomes 2 Fields (genomes2fields.org) will be described. This initiative is a growing, organized effort to make translation of genomic information to productivity in the field the next national priority following the Plant Genome Initiative, supporting the integration of diverse fields including engineering, computation, and biology to lead to predictive models of plant performance in diverse and complex environments.