Development of a statistical evaluation scheme for assessing plasticity data and development of experimental systems for studying root plasticity (Deliverable 5.1)

This document includes Root2Res’ definition of phenotypic plasticity, describes the derivation and selection of a plasticity index and the statistical procedure for its calculation. Furthermore, a graphical method is described that allows the integration of plasticity indices of different traits into one figure. In the second part the experimental setup is described, which allows for the collection of corresponding data under controlled conditions. The main focus is on the suitability of the setup for X-ray computed tomography (X-ray ) analyses and their combination with transcriptome and metabolome analyses. With regard to the need for environmental conditions to be varied, the soil-specific derivation of water availability is described in detail.