DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTEGRATED IMAGE ANALYZER AND BIOREACTOR FOR PLANT PROPAGATION.

THIS PROPOSAL IS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PROCESS TO AUTOMATICALLY CLASSIFY THE DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE OF SOMATIC EMBRYOS AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF AN ONGOING BIOREACTOR PLANT PROPAGATION TECHNOLOGY BEING DEVELOPED AT DNA PLANT TECHNOLOGY. THE BIOREACTOR TECHNOLOGY INVOLVES THE SCALE UP OF SOMATIC EMBRYOGENESIS FOR THE REPRODUCTION OF SELECT PLANTS ON A COMMERCIAL SCALE. AN IMAGE ANALYSIS SYSTEM COUPLED TO DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS SOFTWARE HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED AS AN APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY FOR THE RAPID SCREENING OF SOMATIC EMBRYOS, BUT THE PROCESS REQUIRES FURTHER DEVELOPMENT TO IMPROVE THE ACCURACY OF THE IDENTIFICATION PARAMETERS. THE SUCCESSFUL IMPROVEMENT OF THIS METHOD WILL HAVE SEVERAL BENEFITS. IMAGE ANALYSIS CAN BE USED AS A TOOL FOR THE OBJECTIVE AND RAPID CLASSIFICATION OF LARGE NUMBERS OF SOMATIC EMBRYOS PRODUCED UNDER DIFFERENT CONDITIONS. THIS DATA WILL ALLOW THE INCREMENTAL IMPROVEMENT OF THE BIOREACTOR OPERATING PARAMETERS TO INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY OF THE BIOREACTOR EMBRYO DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. THESE STEP-WISE IMPROVEMENTS WILL REPLACE THE EMPIRICAL OPERATING OF THE BIOREACTOR WITH A RATIONAL OPERATION AND A LOGICAL PROCESS DESIGN. THE IMAGE ANALYSIS WILL ALSO PROVIDE THE BASIS FOR THE SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENT OF CELL OR EMBRYO SORTING TECHNIQUES THAT WILL FURTHER IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY OF PLANT DEVELOPMENT FROM SOMATIC EMBRYOS.