scholarly journals Root plasticity under abiotic stress

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rumyana Karlova ◽  
Damian Boer ◽  
Scott Hayes ◽  
Christa Testerink
Keyword(s):  
Abiotic Stress ◽  
Root Growth ◽  
Root System ◽  
System Architecture ◽  
Root System Architecture ◽  
Root Anatomy ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Root Plasticity ◽  
Cellular Mechanisms ◽  
Aerenchyma Formation

Abstract Abiotic stresses increasingly threaten existing ecological and agricultural systems across the globe. Plant roots perceive these stresses in the soil and adapt their architecture accordingly. This review provides insights into recent discoveries showing the importance of root system architecture and plasticity for the survival and development of plants under heat, cold, drought, salt, and flooding stress. In addition, we review the molecular regulation and hormonal pathways involved in controlling root system architecture plasticity, main root growth, branching and lateral root growth, root hair development and formation of adventitious roots. Several stresses affect root anatomy by causing aerenchyma formation, lignin and suberin deposition, and Casparian strip modulation. Roots can also actively grow towards favourable soil conditions and avoid environments detrimental to their development. Recent advances in understanding the cellular mechanisms behind these different root tropisms are discussed. Understanding root plasticity will be instrumental for the development of crops that are resilient in the face of abiotic stress.

scholarly journals Genome-wide association analysis unveils novel QTLs for seminal root system architecture traits in Ethiopian durum wheat

BMC Genomics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Admas Alemu ◽  
Tileye Feyissa ◽  
Marco Maccaferri ◽  
Giuseppe Sciara ◽  
Roberto Tuberosa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Durum Wheat ◽  
Root System ◽  
System Architecture ◽  
Root Length ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Root System Architecture ◽  
High Density ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Root Dry Weight ◽  
Seminal Roots

Abstract Background Genetic improvement of root system architecture is essential to improve water and nutrient use efficiency of crops or to boost their productivity under stress or non-optimal soil conditions. One hundred ninety-two Ethiopian durum wheat accessions comprising 167 historical landraces and 25 modern cultivars were assembled for GWAS analysis to identify QTLs for root system architecture (RSA) traits and genotyped with a high-density 90 K wheat SNP array by Illumina. Results Using a non-roll, paper-based root phenotyping platform, a total of 2880 seedlings and 14,947 seminal roots were measured at the three-leaf stage to collect data for total root length (TRL), total root number (TRN), root growth angle (RGA), average root length (ARL), bulk root dry weight (RDW), individual root dry weight (IRW), bulk shoot dry weight (SDW), presence of six seminal roots per seedling (RT6) and root shoot ratio (RSR). Analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences between accessions for all RSA traits. Four major (− log10P ≥ 4) and 34 nominal (− log10P ≥ 3) QTLs were identified and grouped in 16 RSA QTL clusters across chromosomes. A higher number of significant RSA QTL were identified on chromosome 4B particularly for root vigor traits (root length, number and/or weight). Conclusions After projecting the identified QTLs on to a high-density tetraploid consensus map along with previously reported RSA QTL in both durum and bread wheat, fourteen nominal QTLs were found to be novel and could potentially be used to tailor RSA in elite lines. The major RGA QTLs on chromosome 6AL detected in the current study and reported in previous studies is a good candidate for cloning the causative underlining sequence and identifying the beneficial haplotypes able to positively affect yield under water- or nutrient-limited conditions.

scholarly journals Morphological Characterization of Root System Architecture in Diverse Tomato Genotypes during Early Growth

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 3888 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurora Alaguero-Cordovilla ◽  
Francisco Gran-Gómez ◽  
Sergio Tormos-Moltó ◽  
José Pérez-Pérez
Keyword(s):  
Root System ◽  
System Architecture ◽  
Lateral Root ◽  
Morphological Plasticity ◽  
Root System Architecture ◽  
Morphological Characterization ◽  
Early Growth ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Wild Tomato Species ◽  
Local Soil

Plant roots exploit morphological plasticity to adapt and respond to different soil environments. We characterized the root system architecture of nine wild tomato species and four cultivated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) varieties during early growth in a controlled environment. Additionally, the root system architecture of six near-isogenic lines from the tomato ‘Micro-Tom’ mutant collection was also studied. These lines were affected in key genes of ethylene, abscisic acid, and anthocyanin pathways. We found extensive differences between the studied lines for a number of meaningful morphological traits, such as lateral root distribution, lateral root length or adventitious root development, which might represent adaptations to local soil conditions during speciation and subsequent domestication. Taken together, our results provide a general quantitative framework for comparing root system architecture in tomato seedlings and other related species.

scholarly journals Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) root system architecture adaptation to initial soil moisture improves seed development in dry-down conditions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thibaut Bontpart ◽  
Ingrid Robertson ◽  
Valerio Giuffrida ◽  
Cristobal Concha ◽  
Livia C. T. Scorza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Root Growth ◽  
Root System ◽  
Seed Development ◽  
Water Use ◽  
System Architecture ◽  
Adaptive Strategies ◽  
Root System Architecture ◽  
Initial Soil Moisture ◽  
Initial Soil

AbstractSoil water deficit (WD) impacts vascular plant phenology, morpho-physiology, and reproduction. Chickpea, which is mainly grown in semi-arid areas, is a good model plant to dissect mechanisms involved in drought resistance.We used a rhizobox-based phenotyping system to simultaneously and non-destructively characterise root system architecture (RSA) dynamics and water use (WU) patterns. We compared the drought-adaptive strategies of ‘Teketay’ to the drought-sensitive genotype ICC 1882 in high and low initial soil moisture without subsequent irrigation.WD restricted vegetative and reproductive organ biomass for both genotypes. Teketay displayed greater adaptability for RSA dynamics and WU patterns and revealed different drought adaptive strategies depending on initial soil moisture: escape when high, postponement when low. These strategies were manifested in distinct RSA dynamics: in low initial soil moisture, its reduced root growth at the end of the vegetative phase was followed by increased root growth in deeper, wetter soil strata, which facilitated timely WU for seed development and produced better-developed seeds.We demonstrate that RSA adaptation to initial soil moisture is one mechanism by which plants can tolerate WD conditions and ensure reproduction by producing well-developed seeds. Our approach will help in identifying the genetic basis for large plasticity of RSA dynamics which enhances the resilience with which crops can optimally adapt to various drought scenarios.HighlightRoot system architecture and water use patterns change dynamically for distinct drought adaptation strategies in chickpea.

Root growth and root system architecture of field-grown maize in response to high planting density

2018 ◽  
Vol 430 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 395-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Shao ◽  
Tingting Xia ◽  
Dali Wu ◽  
Fanjun Chen ◽  
Guohua Mi
Keyword(s):  
Root Growth ◽  
Root System ◽  
System Architecture ◽  
Root System Architecture ◽  
Planting Density

Temperature responses of roots: impact on growth, root system architecture and implications for phenotyping

2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (11) ◽  
pp. 947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerstin A. Nagel ◽  
Bernd Kastenholz ◽  
Siegfried Jahnke ◽  
Dagmar van Dusschoten ◽  
Til Aach ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Root System ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
System Architecture ◽  
Root Zone ◽  
Root System Architecture ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Root Structure ◽  
Optical Analysis ◽  
And Function

Root phenotyping is a challenging task, mainly because of the hidden nature of this organ. Only recently, imaging technologies have become available that allow us to elucidate the dynamic establishment of root structure and function in the soil. In root tips, optical analysis of the relative elemental growth rates in root expansion zones of hydroponically-grown plants revealed that it is the maximum intensity of cellular growth processes rather than the length of the root growth zone that control the acclimation to dynamic changes in temperature. Acclimation of entire root systems was studied at high throughput in agar-filled Petri dishes. In the present study, optical analysis of root system architecture showed that low temperature induced smaller branching angles between primary and lateral roots, which caused a reduction in the volume that roots access at lower temperature. Simulation of temperature gradients similar to natural soil conditions led to differential responses in basal and apical parts of the root system, and significantly affected the entire root system. These results were supported by first data on the response of root structure and carbon transport to different root zone temperatures. These data were acquired by combined magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET). They indicate acclimation of root structure and geometry to temperature and preferential accumulation of carbon near the root tip at low root zone temperatures. Overall, this study demonstrated the value of combining different phenotyping technologies that analyse processes at different spatial and temporal scales. Only such an integrated approach allows us to connect differences between genotypes obtained in artificial high throughput conditions with specific characteristics relevant for field performance. Thus, novel routes may be opened up for improved plant breeding as well as for mechanistic understanding of root structure and function.

Decision Making within Plant Root Systems

1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoav Waisel ◽  
Bobbie McMichael ◽  
Amram Eshel
Keyword(s):  
Root System ◽  
System Architecture ◽  
Plant Root ◽  
Lateral Roots ◽  
Root Systems ◽  
Root System Architecture ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Root Types

Architecture of a root system is the expression of the potential of various root types to branch, to grow and to coordinate with other plant organs, under the specific limitations of the environmental conditions. The present investigation has proven the following points. 1) Genotypes with different types of root systems were identified. The growth patterns of their roots and the distribution of laterals along their main axes were recorded. 2) The patterns of development of the root systems of four cotton genotypes, throughout the entire life cycle of the plants, were described, even at such a late stage of development when the total length of the roots exceeded two kilometers. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that an analysis of this type is accomplished. 3) The development of root systems under restrictive soil conditions were compared with those that have developed under the non-restrictive conditions of aeroponics. Results indicate that in the absence of the mechanical impedance of the soil, cotton plants develop single roots that reach the length of 6 m, and have a total root length of 2000 m. Thus, root growth is strongly inhibited by the soil, with some root types being inhibited more than others. 4) One of the important decisions, in constructing an operational root system architecture of mature plants, is the shift of the balance between various root fractions in favor of the very fine roots. 5) Root system architecture is determined, in part, by the sites of initiation of the lateral roots. This is determined genetically by the number of xylem archs and by the totuosity of the stele. Selection for such traits should be sought.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document