Published by Oxford University Press [2007] on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology
Preface
In recent years there has been rapid development of in vivo imaging approaches to the study of plant physiological processes and especially their responses to stress. These new technologies range from those effective at the subcellular level to the whole plant and even ecosystem levels. At the cellular and subcellular levels, for example, confocal microscopy has revolutionized the imaging of physiological processes, while at the cellular and organ levels NMR-imaging has found many applications in the study of water movement. Exciting developments in the use of chlorophyll fluorescence imaging are being applied to the study of plant photosynthetic activity and its modulation by environmental stress, while fluorescence imaging at other wavelengths is showing great potential for the diagnosis of plant biotic and abiotic stresses. Similarly, thermal imaging has been developed as a particularly powerful tool for the study of thermal biology, transpiration, and stomatal behaviour at scales from the single leaf to whole ecosystems. Geophysical techniques are now showing great promise for visualizing root–soil–water interactions, without disturbance. There have also been rapid developments in the use of hand-held, airborne, and satellite remote sensing for the classification and analysis of plant canopies and their functioning which are now being applied to precision agriculture and to ecological studies.In 2002, a Research Training Network (STRESSIMAGING) funded through the European Community's Human Potential Programme was established to provide multidisciplinary training for young European scientists across the range of modern imaging techniques that might be applicable to the understanding and diagnosis of plant responses to physical and biotic stresses. By making use of additional sponsorship it was decided to widen the final meeting of this network to include not only presentations by members of the STRESSIMAGING group but also to broaden the scope even further by incorporating presentations from a range of other invited international experts in the field. The result was a symposium on ‘Imaging Techniques for Understanding Plant Responses to Stress’ held at the Society for Experimental Biology meeting in Canterbury, UK, April 2006. In addition to the main symposium, delegates had an opportunity for ‘hands-on’ exploration of many of the techniques discussed at a half-day workshop. The papers in this Special Issue were chosen from the symposium to represent the great diversity and power of imaging techniques in current studies of plant response to environmental stresses.
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