Phenotyping Plant Responses to Biotic Stress by Chlorophyll Fluorescence Imaging

Photosynthesis is a pivotal process in plant physiology and its regulation plays an important role in plant defense against biotic stress. Interactions with pathogens and pests often cause alterations in the metabolism of sugars and sink/source relationships. These changes can be part of the plant defense mechanisms to limit nutrient availability to the pathogens. In other cases, these alterations can be the result of pests manipulating the plant metabolism for their own benefit. The effects of biotic stress on plant physiology are typically heterogeneous, both spatially and temporarily. Chlorophyll fluorescence imaging is a powerful tool to mine the activity of photosynthesis at cellular, leaf and whole-plant scale, allowing the phenotyping of plants. This review will recapitulate the responses of the photosynthetic machinery to biotic stress factors, from pathogens (viruses, bacteria and fungi), to pests (herbivory) analyzed by chlorophyll fluorescence imaging both at the lab and field scale. Moreover, chlorophyll fluorescence imagers and alternative techniques to indirectly evaluate photosynthetic traits used at field scale are also revised.