Figure 1.

A schema of the automated image acquisition, analysis, and data-mining workflow. A, Seven CCD cameras acquired electronic images of seedlings growing along the surface of agar-filled petri plates maintained vertically, then rotated 90° to induce gravitropism. B, Images acquired at 2-min intervals streamed from the cameras to storage discs and database. C, Custom image-processing algorithms extracted the root midline. D, Analysis of the midlines returned tip angle and growth rate as a function of time. A relational database stored the extracted results with the metadata. E, Post acquisition, the database was queried with analysis algorithms designed to identify patterns and quantify relationships between key parameters of the gravitropic response. F, The analyses involved standard statistics, classification, and signal processing.