Quantification of Spongospora subterranea by cystosori image analysis in soil
The protist Spongospora subterranea is the soil-borne pathogen that causes the powdery scab of potatoes. This obligate parasite reproduces in roots and tubers, producing clusters of encysted zoospores or cystosori. These cystosori move to the soil and generate a new infective cycle. The prevention of this disease requires identifying and quantifying cystosori in the soil. In this study, cystosori from different crops were digitally photographed under the same conditions, to automate the process. The images were then analyzed to characterize their size and shape in terms of area and circularity. The ranges of the area and circularity were 1086-2247 µm2 and 0.824-0.886, respectively. With these ranges, an increasing number of digital photographs (1-90) of the same soil with cystosori (infected) and without cystosori (control) were analyzed using a macro routine to automate the process. The number of identifications per photograph was linearly, positively, and significantly (p<0.001) correlated with the number of photographs analyzed in both the infected (r2=0.996, y=1.679x) and control (r2=0.968, y=0.367x) soils. However, the number of identifications was five times higher in the infected soil. The identifications of the control soil were subtracted from those of the infected soil for each number of photographs analyzed. This subtraction was linear (y=1.048x), positive (r2=0.979), and significantly correlated (p<0.001) with the average number of cystosori visually quantified in the same photographs. The results show that it is possible to quantify soil cystosori using image analysis. Automatization makes quantification accuracy independent of the operator´s experience and skill.
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | spa |
| Published: |
Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Sede Palmira
2024
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| Online Access: | https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/acta_agronomica/article/view/106890 |
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| Summary: | The protist Spongospora subterranea is the soil-borne pathogen that causes the powdery scab of potatoes. This obligate parasite reproduces in roots and tubers, producing clusters of encysted zoospores or cystosori. These cystosori move to the soil and generate a new infective cycle. The prevention of this disease requires identifying and quantifying cystosori in the soil. In this study, cystosori from different crops were digitally photographed under the same conditions, to automate the process. The images were then analyzed to characterize their size and shape in terms of area and circularity. The ranges of the area and circularity were 1086-2247 µm2 and 0.824-0.886, respectively. With these ranges, an increasing number of digital photographs (1-90) of the same soil with cystosori (infected) and without cystosori (control) were analyzed using a macro routine to automate the process. The number of identifications per photograph was linearly, positively, and significantly (p<0.001) correlated with the number of photographs analyzed in both the infected (r2=0.996, y=1.679x) and control (r2=0.968, y=0.367x) soils. However, the number of identifications was five times higher in the infected soil. The identifications of the control soil were subtracted from those of the infected soil for each number of photographs analyzed. This subtraction was linear (y=1.048x), positive (r2=0.979), and significantly correlated (p<0.001) with the average number of cystosori visually quantified in the same photographs. The results show that it is possible to quantify soil cystosori using image analysis. Automatization makes quantification accuracy independent of the operator´s experience and skill. |
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