Software aids biologists in understanding plant reactions

One method of monitoring the response of plants to different environments is by studying their vein network patterns. And to help address the challenge of how to quickly examine a large quantity of leaves, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a software tool that extracts information about macroscopic vein structures directly from leaf images.

’The software can be used to help identify genes responsible for key leaf venation network traits and to test ecological and evolutionary hypotheses regarding the structure and function of leaf venation networks,’ said Joshua Weitz, an assistant professor in the Georgia Tech School of Biology.

The program, called Leaf Extraction and Analysis Framework Graphical User Interface (LEAF GUI), enables scientists and breeders to measure the properties of thousands of veins much more quickly than manual image-analysis tools.

LEAF GUI is a user-assisted software tool that takes an image of a leaf and, following a series of interactive steps to clean up the image, returns information on the structure of that leaf’s vein networks. Structural measurements include the dimensions, position and connectivity of all network veins, and the dimensions, shape and position of all non-vein areas, called areoles.