Roots and their associated microbes play crucial roles in plant health, soil fertility, and carbon sequestration. Understanding these complex interactions is vital for sustainable agriculture and bioenergy production. However, current imaging techniques face challenges in capturing the dynamic processes that occur within the rhizosphere—the zone where roots, soil, and microorganisms interact. This project aims to develop and implement a coded ptychography approach that will enhance our ability to investigate rhizosphere processes. Coded ptychography is an advanced coherent diffraction imaging technique that captures multiple diffraction patterns from a sample and then uses computational algorithms to reconstruct high-resolution images. The core component of this technology is the employment of a coded surface for light modulation, which effectively serves as a large-scale scattering lens with a theoretically unlimited field of view. This approach provides several advantages over traditional microscopy techniques. It can deliver high-resolution imaging across a large field of view, potentially allowing researchers to simultaneously observe individual microbes and their broader community structure. The system is designed to capture rapid processes, which could reveal dynamic interactions between roots and microbes. In addition, coded ptychography enables label-free imaging with intrinsic polarimetric, phase, and other contrasts, allowing researchers to study rhizosphere components with minimal sample preparation. The ability to perform post-acquisition refocusing and depth-resolved imaging may also provide new insights into the three-dimensional structure of the rhizosphere, potentially overcoming some limitations of traditional optical imaging in complex soil environments. These imaging advancements could allow researchers to better visualize root–microbe interactions, track nutrient flows, and observe microbial community dynamics. By combining the University of Connecticut’s imaging technology development expertise with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's strengths in omics characterization of soil microbiology and rhizosphere processes, this project aims to develop and implement coded ptychography for rhizosphere research. The resulting imaging platform has the potential to advance our understanding of rhizosphere biogeochemical processes such as plant–microbe symbiosis and carbon cycling, which will lead to more sustainable practices for improving bioenergy crop productivity.
