Variability and Relationships of Root Traits in a Subset of Induced Barley Mutant Collection

2004 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Onur Özbaş ◽  
M. İlhan Çağırgan
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Coline Deveautour ◽  
Suzanne Donn ◽  
Sally Power ◽  
Kirk Barnett ◽  
Jeff Powell

Future climate scenarios predict changes in rainfall regimes. These changes are expected to affect plants via effects on the expression of root traits associated with water and nutrient uptake. Associated microorganisms may also respond to these new precipitation regimes, either directly in response to changes in the soil environment or indirectly in response to altered root trait expression. We characterised arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal communities in an Australian grassland exposed to experimentally altered rainfall regimes. We used Illumina sequencing to assess the responses of AM fungal communities associated with four plant species sampled in different watering treatments and evaluated the extent to which shifts were associated with changes in root traits. We observed that altered rainfall regimes affected the composition but not the richness of the AM fungal communities, and we found distinctive communities in the increased rainfall treatment. We found no evidence of altered rainfall regime effects via changes in host physiology because none of the studied traits were affected by changes in rainfall. However, specific root length was observed to correlate with AM fungal richness, while concentrations of phosphorus and calcium in root tissue and the proportion of root length allocated to fine roots were correlated to community composition. Our study provides evidence that climate change and its effects on rainfall may influence AM fungal community assembly, as do plant traits related to plant nutrition and water uptake. We did not find evidence that host responses to altered rainfall drive AM fungal community assembly in this grassland ecosystem.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1149
Author(s):  
Guglielmo Puccio ◽  
Rosolino Ingraffia ◽  
Dario Giambalvo ◽  
Gaetano Amato ◽  
Alfonso S. Frenda

Identifying genotypes with a greater ability to absorb nitrogen (N) may be important to reducing N loss in the environment and improving the sustainability of agricultural systems. This study extends the knowledge of variability among wheat genotypes in terms of morphological or physiological root traits, N uptake under conditions of low soil N availability, and in the amount and rapidity of the use of N supplied with fertilizer. Nine genotypes of durum wheat were chosen for their different morpho-phenological characteristics and year of their release. The isotopic tracer 15N was used to measure the fertilizer N uptake efficiency. The results show that durum wheat breeding did not have univocal effects on the characteristics of the root system (weight, length, specific root length, etc.) or N uptake capacity. The differences in N uptake among the studied genotypes when grown in conditions of low N availability appear to be related more to differences in uptake efficiency per unit of weight and length of the root system than to differences in the morphological root traits. The differences among the genotypes in the speed and the ability to take advantage of the greater N availability, determined by N fertilization, appear to a certain extent to be related to the development of the root system and the photosynthesizing area. This study highlights some variability within the species in terms of the development, distribution, and efficiency of the root system, which suggests that there may be sufficient grounds for improving these traits with positive effects in terms of adaptability to difficult environments and resilience to climate change.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 793
Author(s):  
Yaxiong Zheng ◽  
Fengying Guan ◽  
Shaohui Fan ◽  
Yang Zhou ◽  
Xiong Jing

Functional characteristics reflect plant strategies and adaptability to the changing environment. Determining the dynamics of these characteristics after harvesting would improve the understanding of forest response strategies. Strip clearcutting (SC) of moso bamboo forests, which significantly reduces the cutting cost, has been proposed to replace manual selective harvesting. A comparison of restoration features shows that 8 m is the optimal cutting width. However, the precise response of functional features to the resulting harvest-created gap remains unclear. In this study, three SC plots were selected which was performed in February 2019, with three unharvested plots as a control (C). The study focused on 10 functional traits, including leaf area (LA), specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf nitrogen content (LNC), leaf phosphorus content (LPC), nitrogen/phosphorus ratio (N:P), wood density (WD), fine root biomass (FRB), specific fine root length (SRL), and root length density (RLD). A one-way ANOVA was used to compare differences in functional traits and soil nutrients between treatments. Strip clearcutting significantly reduced the soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents (p < 0.05). In terms of functional characteristics, SC significantly decreased LA and increased LNC, LPC, and N:P (p < 0.05). However, SC had no significant effect on fine root traits (p > 0.05). This study highlighted that root trait, soil content of total phosphorus (TP) and total potassium (TK) returned to the level of uncut plots after a year’s recovery. The LPC, LNC, and N:P were negatively correlated with LA, and LDMC and WD were negatively correlated with SLA, while the effect of SC on fine root traits was limited (p > 0.05). Fine root traits (FRB, RLD, and SRL) were positively associated with SOC, TN, and TP, but negatively correlated with TK. The changes in soil nutrient content caused by the removal of biomass were normal. Increased light and the rapid growth of new trees will increase nutrient regressions; therefore, these results further confirm the feasibility of SC.


Plant Methods ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Gomez Selvaraj ◽  
Maria Elker Montoya-P ◽  
John Atanbori ◽  
Andrew P. French ◽  
Tony Pridmore

Abstract Background Root and tuber crops are becoming more important for their high source of carbohydrates, next to cereals. Despite their commercial impact, there are significant knowledge gaps about the environmental and inherent regulation of storage root (SR) differentiation, due in part to the innate problems of studying storage roots and the lack of a suitable model system for monitoring storage root growth. The research presented here aimed to develop a reliable, low-cost effective system that enables the study of the factors influencing cassava storage root initiation and development. Results We explored simple, low-cost systems for the study of storage root biology. An aeroponics system described here is ideal for real-time monitoring of storage root development (SRD), and this was further validated using hormone studies. Our aeroponics-based auxin studies revealed that storage root initiation and development are adaptive responses, which are significantly enhanced by the exogenous auxin supply. Field and histological experiments were also conducted to confirm the auxin effect found in the aeroponics system. We also developed a simple digital imaging platform to quantify storage root growth and development traits. Correlation analysis confirmed that image-based estimation can be a surrogate for manual root phenotyping for several key traits. Conclusions The aeroponic system developed from this study is an effective tool for examining the root architecture of cassava during early SRD. The aeroponic system also provided novel insights into storage root formation by activating the auxin-dependent proliferation of secondary xylem parenchyma cells to induce the initial root thickening and bulking. The developed system can be of direct benefit to molecular biologists, breeders, and physiologists, allowing them to screen germplasm for root traits that correlate with improved economic traits.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 174
Author(s):  
Hui Liu ◽  
Fabio Fiorani ◽  
Ortrud Jäck ◽  
Tino Colombi ◽  
Kerstin A. Nagel ◽  
...  

Plants with improved nutrient use efficiency are needed to maintain and enhance future crop plant production. The aim of this study was to explore candidate traits for pre-breeding to improve nutrient accumulation and early vigor of spring wheat grown at high latitudes. We quantified shoot and root traits together with nutrient accumulation in nine contrasting spring wheat genotypes grown in rhizoboxes for 20 days in a greenhouse. Whole-plant relative growth rate was here correlated with leaf area productivity and plant nitrogen productivity, but not leaf area ratio. Furthermore, the total leaf area was correlated with the accumulation of six macronutrients, and could be suggested as a candidate trait for the pre-breeding towards improved nutrient accumulation and early vigor in wheat to be grown in high-latitude environments. Depending on the nutrient of interest, different root system traits were identified as relevant for their accumulation. Accumulation of nitrogen, potassium, sulfur and calcium was correlated with lateral root length, whilst accumulation of phosphorus and magnesium was correlated with main root length. Therefore, special attention needs to be paid to specific root system traits in the breeding of wheat towards improved nutrient accumulation to counteract the suboptimal uptake of some nutrient elements.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 1180-1192
Author(s):  
Meng-jiao YANG ◽  
Cai-rong WANG ◽  
Muhammad Adeel HASSAN ◽  
Yu-ying WU ◽  
Xian-chun XIA ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (4) ◽  
pp. 655-665 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. L. Thomas ◽  
N. S. Graham ◽  
R. Hayden ◽  
M. C. Meacham ◽  
K. Neugebauer ◽  
...  

1970 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. B. Land ◽  
G. Norton

SUMMARYContrary to previous reports, evidence has been presented which indicates that Xan-b61, a Xantha mutant of barley, does not have an auxotrophic requirement for leucine. It has been shown that this mutant, when grown under appropriate conditions in the absence of leucine, will synthesize leucine and will continue to grow for an extended period of time.


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