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Holman AP, Goff NK, Juárez ID, Higgins S, Rodriguez A, Bagavathiannan M, Kurouski D, Subramanian N. Elucidation of sex from mature Palmer amaranth ( Amaranthus palmeri) leaves using a portable Raman spectrometer. RSC Adv 2024; 14:1833-1837. [PMID: 38192310 PMCID: PMC10772952 DOI: 10.1039/d3ra06368b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/01/2024] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri) is a pervasive and troublesome weed species that poses significant challenges to agriculture in the United States. Identifying the sex of Palmer amaranth plants is crucial for developing tailored control measures due to the distinct characteristics and reproductive strategies exhibited by male and female plants. Traditional methods for sex determination are expensive and time-consuming, but recent advancements in spectroscopic techniques offer new possibilities. This study explores the potential of portable Raman spectroscopy for determining the sex of mature Palmer amaranth plants in-field. Raman analysis of the plant leaves reveals spectral differences associated with nitrate salts, lipids, carotenoids, and terpenoids, allowing for high accuracy and reliable identification of the plant's sex; male plants had higher concentrations of these compounds compared to females. It was also found that male plants had higher concentrations of these compounds compared to the females. Raman spectra were analyzed using a machine learning tool, partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), to generate accuracies of no less than 83.7% when elucidating sex from acquired spectra. These findings provide insights into the sex-specific characteristics of Palmer amaranth and suggest that Raman analysis, combined with PLS-DA, can be a promising, non-destructive, and efficient method for sex determination in field settings. This approach has implications for developing sex-specific management strategies to monitor and control this invasive weed in real-world environments, benefiting farmers, agronomists, researchers, and master gardeners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aidan P Holman
- Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University College Station Texas 77843 USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University College Station Texas 77843 USA
| | - Nicolas K Goff
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University College Station Texas 77843 USA
- The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School Austin Texas 78712 USA
| | - Isaac D Juárez
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University College Station Texas 77843 USA
| | - Samantha Higgins
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University College Station Texas 77843 USA
| | - Axell Rodriguez
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University College Station Texas 77843 USA
| | | | - Dmitry Kurouski
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University College Station Texas 77843 USA
- Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture College Station Texas 77843 USA
| | - Nithya Subramanian
- Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University College Station Texas 77843 USA
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Goff NK, Dou T, Higgins S, Horn EJ, Morey R, McClellan K, Kurouski D, Rogovskyy AS. Testing Raman spectroscopy as a diagnostic approach for Lyme disease patients. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:1006134. [PMID: 36389168 PMCID: PMC9647194 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.1006134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Lyme disease (LD), the leading tick-borne disease in the Northern hemisphere, is caused by spirochetes of several genospecies of the Borreliella burgdorferi sensu lato complex. LD is a multi-systemic and highly debilitating illness that is notoriously challenging to diagnose. The main drawbacks of the two-tiered serology, the only approved diagnostic test in the United States, include poor sensitivity, background seropositivity, and cross-reactivity. Recently, Raman spectroscopy (RS) was examined for its LD diagnostic utility by our earlier proof-of-concept study. The previous investigation analyzed the blood from mice that were infected with 297 and B31 strains of Borreliella burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.). The selected strains represented two out of the three major clades of B. burgdorferi s.s. isolates found in the United States. The obtained results were encouraging and prompted us to further investigate the RS diagnostic capacity for LD in this study. The present investigation has analyzed blood of mice infected with European genospecies, Borreliella afzelii or Borreliella garinii, or B. burgdorferi N40, a strain of the third major class of B. burgdorferi s.s. in the United States. Moreover, 90 human serum samples that originated from LD-confirmed, LD-negative, and LD-probable human patients were also analyzed by RS. The overall results demonstrated that blood samples from Borreliella-infected mice were identified with 96% accuracy, 94% sensitivity, and 100% specificity. Furthermore, human blood samples were analyzed with 88% accuracy, 85% sensitivity, and 90% specificity. Together, the current data indicate that RS should be further explored as a potential diagnostic test for LD patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas K. Goff
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Tianyi Dou
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Samantha Higgins
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | | | - Rohini Morey
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Kyle McClellan
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Dmitry Kurouski
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
- *Correspondence: Dmitry Kurouski, ; Artem S. Rogovskyy,
| | - Artem S. Rogovskyy
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
- *Correspondence: Dmitry Kurouski, ; Artem S. Rogovskyy,
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Goff NK, Guenther JF, Roberts JK, Adler M, Molle MD, Mathews G, Kurouski D. Non-Invasive and Confirmatory Differentiation of Hermaphrodite from Both Male and Female Cannabis Plants Using a Hand-Held Raman Spectrometer. MOLECULES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 27:molecules27154978. [PMID: 35956927 PMCID: PMC9370318 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27154978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Revised: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) is a dioecious plant that produces both male and female inflorescences. In nature, male and female plants can be found with nearly equal frequency, which determines species out-crossing. In cannabis farming, only female plants are preferred due to their high yield of cannabinoids. In addition to unfavorable male plants, commercial production of cannabis faces the appearance of hermaphroditic inflorescences, species displaying both pistillate flowers and anthers. Such plants can out-cross female plants, simultaneously producing undesired seeds. The problem of hermaphroditic cannabis triggered a search for analytical tools that can be used for their rapid detection and identification. In this study, we investigate the potential of Raman spectroscopy (RS), an emerging sensing technique that can be used to probe plant biochemistry. Our results show that the biochemistry of male, female and hermaphroditic cannabis plants is drastically different which allows for their confirmatory identification using a hand-held Raman spectrometer. Furthermore, the coupling of machine learning approaches enables the identification of hermaphrodites with 98.7% accuracy, whereas both male and female plants can be identified with 100% accuracy. Considering the label-free, non-invasive and non-destructive nature of RS, the developed optical sensing approach can transform cannabis farming in the U.S. and overseas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas K. Goff
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Dmitry Kurouski
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +979-458-3778
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