Distinguishing between metabolically active and inactive roots by combined staining with 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride and image colour analysis

The objective of the present work was to develop a method to distinguish between metabolically inactive and active parts of plant roots. White clover (Trifolium repens L.) roots were stained with 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) followed by root colour classification with an interactive scanner-based image analysis programme (WinRHIZO). Roots inactivated by boiling were unstained and pale brown, whereas fresh samples with predominantly metabolically active roots turned dark red, red or pale red after staining. A small amount of very young, presumable active roots (0.8% of total active root length) failed to stain red with TTC. The colour analysis of inactive and active roots was based on four colour classes for boiled roots and seven classes for fresh roots, respectively, as defined upon visual examination of images. Pixel colours falling outside the defined classes were allocated to the nearest defined class – an option that increased objectivity and stability and reduced the required number of colour classes. For the fresh white clover roots, 75–86% of the total root length was determined as active, while 3–7% of the boiled roots fell into the same category. The percentage of total root length measured by WinRHIZO that was identified as metabolically active was linearly correlated with the percentage of fresh roots in mixtures of fresh and boiled roots (R²=0.99). Colour classes chosen à priori from one experiment could be used to distinguish fairly satisfactorily between active and inactive roots of another white clover cultivar grown under other conditions, but failed to classify activity in ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) root samples. In the latter case, colour classes needed to be re-defined in order to produce reliable data. Our work shows that WinRHIZOs colour identification sub-module provides a new promising tool to classify root activity as identified after staining with TTC, but colour classes must be carefully evaluated on every new occasion.