Boyce Thompson Institute unveils state-of-the-art plant high-throughput phenotyping facility

Date:04-08-2024

Boyce Thompson Institute announced the opening of its cutting-edge plant phenotyping facility, PhenoSight. This new facility holds significant potential for delivering unparalleled insights into plant growth, development, and response to environmental conditions.

″The opening of this facility marks a significant milestone in our research capabilities at BTI,″ shared Dr. Magdalena Julkowska, Assistant Professor at BTI and lead of the PhenoSight facility. ″With this state-of-the-art technology, we are poised to make further groundbreaking discoveries in plant biology and contribute to addressing pressing global challenges such as food security and environmental sustainability.″

The PhenoSight facility is equipped with advanced imaging capabilities designed to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery in plant biology. The facility includes a high-throughput imaging system capable of analyzing up to 64 large plants or 1280 smaller plants simultaneously. This system integrates advanced chlorophyll fluorescence and RGB imaging techniques to extract real-time data on plant health and vigor, enabling researchers to precisely measure plant height, area, and digital biomass.

Beyond its cutting-edge technology, PhenoSight emphasizes practical applications for research. The vast data sets generated by PhenoSight can be analyzed using advanced computational methods, enabling researchers to uncover hidden patterns and make predictions in plant biology and genetics. 

″As we celebrate BTI’s centennial, this new facility stands as a testament to the Institute’s dedication to innovation and excellence in plant science research,″ said Dr. Silvia Restrepo, President of BTI. ″We are excited to continue pushing the boundaries of plant science and making meaningful discoveries that have a positive impact on our world.″