Penetration and infection of alfalfa roots by Phytophthora megasperma and the pathological anatomy of infected roots

1971 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. C. Marks ◽  
J. E. Mitchell

Penetration of the fine roots of Vernal alfalfa by Phytophthora megasperma was investigated in solution culture. The zoospores encysted on the root tips around the zone of cell division and cell extension and directly penetrated the host by a small infection peg. No appressoria were observed, but the flattened base of the cyst adhered to the host and appeared to serve the same function. Inside the root the hyphae were inter- and intra-cellular. In naturally infested and artificially inoculated field soils most of the fine roots were destroyed and large lesions appeared on the tap root. The latter originated from infection of the spongy-phellem cells formed around the base of the fine lateral roots. Restricted lesion development on the tap root was associated with the formation of wound periderm around the infection court. No wound periderm was formed when the vascular system was infected and only minor damage occurred when invasion was restricted to the cortex. Root damage reduced growth rates in older plants and severe infection produced yellow foliage, premature defoliation, and wilting.

Weed Science ◽  
1972 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 285-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Hawxby ◽  
E. Basler ◽  
P. W. Santelmann

The absorption and translocation of14C-labeled α,α,α-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-N,N-dipropyl-p-toluidine (trifluralin) and 2-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-1,2,4-oxadiazolidine-3,5-dione methazole from nutrient solutions of various temperatures by(Arachis hypogaeaL. ‘Starr’) seedlings were determined. The accumulation of trifluralin in roots at 24 hr after exposure to trifluralin was greatest at 21 C and decreased at higher temperatures up to 38 C. The amounts of trifluralin translocated and accumulated in hypocotyls, tops, and cotyledons were small but generally increased with temperature. The initial rate of absorption of trifluralin was greater in excised lateral root tips than in tap root tips, but there was a greater accumulation in excised tap roots at 24 hr. The initial rates of absorption were higher for excised lateral roots at high temperatures. Total absorption of trifluralin at equilibrium was not proportional to the initial rates of absorption but was highest at low (21 C) and high (38 C) temperatures for excised lateral roots. The absorption of methazole by roots and translocation to other plant parts increased linearly with temperature, and it tended to accumulate in the mature leaf tissue.


1976 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 447 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAG Irwin

Infection of roots of resistant and susceptible lucerne cultivars by zoospores of Phytophthora megasperma var. sojae was studied in solution culture. Zoospores accumulated, encysted, germinated and penetrated roots at two different regions, the region of cell division and cell extension at the root apex and at the junction of a lateral root with the tap-root. Zoospores exhibited similar tactic responses to both resistant and susceptible cultivars. The infection by zoospores a t root junctions is a possible explanation for tap-root lesions consistently originating at the junction of the tap-root with a lateral root on plants infected in the field.


2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (9) ◽  
pp. 803 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Hayes ◽  
B. J. Scott ◽  
B. S. Dear ◽  
G. D. Li ◽  
G. C. Auricht

This study tested the hypothesis that lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) populations selected in solution culture high in aluminium (Al) would increase seedling root growth when grown in an acid soil high in exchangeable Al. Root growth of six elite populations (Aurora C2, UQL-1 C2, T02-011 C1, T02-011 C2, A513 C3 and Sardi 7 C2) selected in high-Al solution culture (SHASC) was compared with that of corresponding parent as well as the Georgia acid soil-tolerant populations in an acid soil in pots grown for 8 days under controlled environmental conditions. Lime was added to the soil to provide contrasts in the severity of stress imposed by low pH and high Al. Averaged across six SHASC populations, total root length increased 19% at pH 4.34 in CaCl2 (35% exchangeable Al) and 26% at pH 5.26 (<1% exchangeable Al) compared with the control populations. At all pH levels SHASC populations showed increased tap root length, total root length (includes lateral roots), root weight and root surface area, but decreased average root diameter compared with the six control populations. A large amount of variability was observed both between and within lucerne populations with three SHASC populations (Aurora C2, UQL-1 C2 and Sardi 7 C2) exhibiting increased root growth at lower pH levels, but little increase in root length at higher pH, consistent with increased tolerance to Al toxicity. This was in contrast to three other SHASC populations (T02-011 C1, T02-011 C2 and A513 C3), which exhibited increased root length at all pH levels, consistent with increased seedling vigour. The Sardi 7 C2 population exhibited the greatest increase in tap root growth with tap root length increasing by 40 and 30% at pH 4.34 and 4.48, respectively, compared with its parent population Sardi 7. This study provides evidence that seedlings of lucerne populations selected in high-Al solution culture can confer significantly improved root and shoot growth in acid soil. It is recommended that such screening be incorporated into lucerne breeding programs to reduce costs in space and time.


Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1722
Author(s):  
Lidiya Vysotskaya ◽  
Guzel Akhiyarova ◽  
Arina Feoktistova ◽  
Zarina Akhtyamova ◽  
Alla Korobova ◽  
...  

Although changes in root architecture in response to the environment can optimize mineral and water nutrient uptake, mechanisms regulating these changes are not well-understood. We investigated whether P deprivation effects on root development are mediated by abscisic acid (ABA) and its interactions with other hormones. The ABA-deficient barley mutant Az34 and its wild-type (WT) were grown in P-deprived and P-replete conditions, and hormones were measured in whole roots and root tips. Although P deprivation decreased growth in shoot mass similarly in both genotypes, only the WT increased primary root length and number of lateral roots. The effect was accompanied by ABA accumulation in root tips, a response not seen in Az34. Increased ABA in P-deprived WT was accompanied by decreased concentrations of cytokinin, an inhibitor of root extension. Furthermore, P-deficiency in the WT increased auxin concentration in whole root systems in association with increased root branching. In the ABA-deficient mutant, P-starvation failed to stimulate root elongation or promote branching, and there was no decline in cytokinin and no increase in auxin. The results demonstrate ABA’s ability to mediate in root growth responses to P starvation in barley, an effect linked to its effects on cytokinin and auxin concentrations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 546-553
Author(s):  
Kiyoshi Yamazaki ◽  
Yoshihiro Ohmori ◽  
Toru Fujiwara

Abstract Plants take up water and nutrients through roots, and uptake efficiency depends on root behavior. Roots recognize the moisture gradient in the soil and grow toward the direction of high moisture. This phenomenon is called hydrotropism, and it contributes to efficient water uptake. As nutrients in soil are also unevenly distributed, it is beneficial for plants to grow their roots in the direction of increasing nutrient concentrations, but such a phenomenon has not been demonstrated. Here, we describe the directional growth of roots in response to a nutrient gradient. Using our assay system, the gradient of a nitrogen nutrient, NH4+, was sufficient to stimulate positive tropic responses of rice lateral roots. This phenomenon is a tropism of plant roots to nutrients; hence, we propose the name ‘nutritropism’. As well as other tropisms, differential cell elongation was observed before the elongation zone during nutritropism, but the pattern promoting cell elongation preferentially on the non-stimulated side was opposite to those in root hydrotropism and gravitropism. Our evaluation of the NH4+ gradient suggested that the root tips responded to a sub-micromolar difference in NH4+ concentration on both sides of the root. Hydrotropism, gravitropism and phototropism were described in plants as the ‘power of movement’ by Charles and Francis Darwin in 1880, and these three tropisms have attracted the attention of plant scientists for more than 130 years. Our discovery of nutritropism represents the fourth ‘power of movement’ in plants and provides a novel root behavioral property used by plants to acquire nutrients efficiently.


1973 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 497 ◽  
Author(s):  
KC Hodgkinson

Lucerne plants (Medicogo sativa cv. Hunter River) were either frequently or infrequently cut down and subsequent differences in shoot regrowth were compared in two experiments. The first experiment demonstrated that differences in final shoot weights arose from differences developed during the first 7 days of regrowth. High level cutting (15 cm) increased the shoot yield of frequently but not of infrequently cut plants. Net uptake of both nitrogen and phosphorus was related to the growth rate of shoots until commencement of flowering, when uptake ceased for c. 15 days even though both roots and shoots continued to gain weight. Towards the end of flowering uptake of nitrogen and phosphorus recommenced and accumulation of both nutrients occurred in the tap-root and lateral roots. The relative nitrogen and phosphorus content of leaves on crown shoots was highest on day 7 and the same for frequently and infrequently cut plants. Leaves on crown and stubble shoots 7 days after high level cutting had a significantly lower relative nitrogen and phosphorus content than leaves on plants cut low. Thereafter the relative nitrogen and phosphorus content of a11 leaves declined with the greatest decline occurring after the commencement of flowering. In the second experiment early morphogenesis of the shoot population was investigated. Establishment of shoots was completed between 3 and 5 days after cutting. Higher shoot weights on infrequently cut plants were accounted for by a larger number of small shoots at the time of cutting. Relative growth rates of shoots did not appear to be influenced by prior cutting frequency. The relative nitrogen content of buds and shoot apices was low at cutting but doubled within 2 or 3 days and then declined after day 7. These results are discussed in relation to the role of 'plant factors' in shoot regrowth of lucerne.


2009 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiernan A. O'Rourke ◽  
Tim T. Scanlon ◽  
Megan H. Ryan ◽  
Len J. Wade ◽  
Alan C. McKay ◽  
...  

Pasture decline is considered to be a serious challenge to agricultural productivity of subterranean clover across southern Australia. Root disease is a significant contributing factor to pasture decline. However, root disease assessments are generally carried out in the early part of the growing season and in areas predominantly sown to permanent pastures. For this reason, in spring 2004, a survey was undertaken to determine the severity of root disease in mature subterranean clover plants in pastures located in the wheatbelt of Western Australia. DNA-based soil assays were used to estimate population density in the soil of a variety of soil-borne pathogens known to commonly occur in the Mediterranean-type environments of southern Australia. The relationships between severity of disease on tap and lateral roots and root diameter, root length, nodulation, and total rainfall were determined. The survey showed, for the first time, that severe root disease is widespread in spring across the wheatbelt of Western Australia. There was a positive correlation between rainfall and tap root disease, and between tap root disease and average root diameter of the entire root system. Despite the high levels of root disease present across the sites, the DNA of most root disease pathogens assayed was detected in trace concentrations. Only Pythium Clade F showed high DNA concentrations in the soil. DNA concentrations in the soil, in particular for Phytophthora clandestina and Rhizoctonia solani AG 2.1 and AG 2.2, were higher in the smaller autumn sampling in 2006. This study suggests that the productivity of subterranean clover-based pastures is severely compromised by root rot diseases throughout the growing season in the wheatbelt of Western Australia.


2001 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Françoise de Billy ◽  
Cathy Grosjean ◽  
Sean May ◽  
Malcolm Bennett ◽  
Julie V. Cullimore

Medicago truncatula contains a family of at least five genes related to AUX1 of Arabidopsis thaliana (termed MtLAX genes for Medicago truncatula-like AUX1 genes). The high sequence similarity between the encoded proteins and AUX1 implies that the MtLAX genes encode auxin import carriers. The MtLAX genes are expressed in roots and other organs, suggesting that they play pleiotropic roles related to auxin uptake. In primary roots, the MtLAX genes are expressed preferentially in the root tips, particularly in the provascular bundles and root caps. During lateral root and nodule development, the genes are expressed in the primordia, particularly in cells that were probably derived from the pericycle. At slightly later stages, the genes are expressed in the regions of the developing organs where the vasculature arises (central position for lateral roots and peripheral region for nodules). These results are consistent with MtLAX being involved in local auxin transport and suggest that auxin is required at two common stages of lateral root and nodule development: development of the primordia and differentiation of the vasculature.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document