Institut für Bio- und Geowissenschaften (IBG)

Pflanzenwissenschaften (IBG-2)

Taking the center stage: Our research featured on the Plant Phenomics journal cover page

How does the syndrome "basses richesses" (SBR) disease harm the sugar beet taproot? Using advanced tomographic imaging (MRI and PET), Kwabena Agyei and colleagues have revealed that the SBR pathogen not only deforms the taproot but also cuts off the supply of recently fixed photosynthates to infected areas. These findings may support the identification of promising genotype candidates for future breeding programs. Kwabena’s work is now published and was selected for the cover page of the journal.

The IBG-2 PhD student Kwabena Agyei won runner-up prize for his poster about biotic disease effects in sugar beet at the 12th Symposium of the International Society of Root Research.

His research entitled “Syndrome “basses richesses” disease induced structural deformations and sectorial distribution of photoassimilates in sugar beet taproot revealed by combined MRI-PET imaging“ has now been published in “Plant phenomics” Journal as open access: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2643651525000597.

Briefly, his work is about a crop disease called syndrome "basses richesses" (SBR), which is a serious problem for sugar beet cultivation. The rapid spread of the disease is caused by a cicada species called Pentastiridius leporinus which acts as a vector of two main bacteria “‘Candidatus Arsenophonus phytopathogenicus' and ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’” that cause SBR. According to the German association of sugar beet producers, the industry risks an infestation area of 123,000 hectares by 2025 which is equivalent to about a third of the total cultivated area. However, currently it is unclear how the disease damages the belowground taproot. Due to the hidden nature of the taproot in soils, detailed knowledge regarding disease occurrence and symptom progression within the taproot is limited, even though the taproot forms the main economic value of sugar beet. Recently, several other crops such as potatoes and carrots have also become infected by the SBR disease.

Kwabena Agyei teamed up with colleagues from Institute for sugar beet research in Göttingen for gaining deep insights into temporal SBR progression. The cover image already illustrates how complementary tomographic imaging reveals the effects of the biotic disease in a sugar beet taproot. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) allowed extracting anatomical features in cross-sectional slices of infected and healthy taproots (right images). The infected taproot showed a brighter and smeared cambium ring structure as compared to healthy taproot. Additionally, co-registration of MRI (grey) with Positron Emission Tomography (PET, colored) using 11C provided information regarding photoassimilate distribution in an infected taproot (left image). The co-registration reveals a sector of missing or low photoassimilate signal that corresponds to regions of altered anatomical features. The use of non-invasive tomographic methods thus enabled the characterization of non-homogeneous disease symptoms and provided insights into the progression of the pathogen in a growing sugar beet taproot.

By combining MRI and PET, Kwabena’s approach enabled an early detection and quantification of SBR induced damage on below-ground taproot. From this, we could derive new insights on the progression of the pathogen within the host. This may contribute to an efficient judging of susceptibility to the disease and helping to select resistant genotypes.

Link to the article doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphe.2025.100053

Link to more information on SBR disease (in German) www.agrarheute.com/pflanze/zuckerrueben/sbr-krankheit-ruebenflaeche-verdoppelt-581410