scholarly journals Genotypic diversity and plasticity of root system architecture to nitrogen availability in oilseed rape

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. e0250966
Author(s):  
Christophe Lecarpentier ◽  
Loïc Pagès ◽  
Céline Richard-Molard

In the emerging new agricultural context, a drastic reduction in fertilizer usage is required. A promising way to maintain high crop yields while reducing fertilizer inputs is to breed new varieties with optimized root system architecture (RSA), designed to reach soil resources more efficiently. This relies on identifying key traits that underlie genotypic variability and plasticity of RSA in response to nutrient availability. The aim of our study was to characterize the RSA plasticity in response to nitrogen limitation of a set of contrasted oilseed rape genotypes, by using the ArchiSimple model parameters as screening traits. Eight accessions of Brassica napus were grown in long tubes in the greenhouse, under two contrasting levels of nitrogen availability. After plant excavation, roots were scanned at high resolution. Six RSA traits relative to root diameter, elongation rate and branching were measured, as well as nine growth and biomass allocation traits. The plasticity of each trait to nitrogen availability was estimated. Nitrogen-limited plants were characterized by a strong reduction in total biomass and leaf area. Even if the architecture traits were shown to be less plastic than allocation traits, significant nitrogen and genotype effects were highlighted on each RSA trait, except the root minimal diameter. Thus, the RSA of nitrogen-limited plants was primarily characterised by a reduced lateral root density, a smaller primary root diameter, associated with a stronger root dominance. Among the RSA traits measured, the inter-branch distance showed the highest plasticity with a level of 70%, in the same range as the most plastic allocation traits. This work suggests that lateral root density plays the key role in the adaptation of the root system to nitrogen availability and highlights inter-branch distance as a major target trait for breeding new varieties, better adapted to low input systems.

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 3888 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurora Alaguero-Cordovilla ◽  
Francisco Gran-Gómez ◽  
Sergio Tormos-Moltó ◽  
José Pérez-Pérez

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.


Author(s):  
Marek Šírl ◽  
Tereza Šnajdrová ◽  
Dolores Gutiérrez-Alanís ◽  
Joseph G. Dubrovsky ◽  
Jean Phillipe Vielle-Calzada ◽  
...  

The AT-HOOK MOTIF NUCLEAR LOCALIZED PROTEIN (AHL) gene family encodes embryophyte-specific nuclear proteins with DNA binding activity. They modulate gene expression and affect various developmental processes in plants. We identify AHL18 (At3G60870) as a developmental modulator of root system architecture and growth. AHL18 regulates the length of the proliferation domain and number of dividing cells in the root apical meristem and thereby, cell production. Both primary root growth and lateral root development respond according to AHL18 transcription level. The ahl18 knock-out plants show reduced root systems due to a shorter primary root and a lower number of lateral roots. This change results from a higher number of arrested and non-developing lateral root primordia (LRP) rather than from decreased initiation. Overexpression of AHL18 results in a more extensive root system, longer primary roots, and increased density of lateral root initiation events. Formation of lateral roots is affected during the initiation of LRP and later development. AHL18 regulate root apical meristem activity, lateral root initiation and emergence, which is in accord with localization of its expression.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steffen Schlüter ◽  
Eva Lippold ◽  
Maxime Phalempin ◽  
Doris Vetterlein

<p>Root hairs are one root trait among many which enables plants to adapt to environmental conditions. How different traits are coordinated and whether some are mutually exclusive is currently poorly understood. Comparing a root hair defective mutant with its corresponding wild-type we explored if and how the mutant exhibited root growth adaption strategies and as to how far this depended on the substrate.</p><p>Zea mays root hair defective mutant (rth3) and the corresponding wild-type siblings were grown on two substrates with contrasting texture and hence nutrient mobility. Root system architecture was investigated over time using repeated X-ray computed tomography.</p><p>There was no plastic adaption of root system architecture to the lack of root hairs, which resulted in lower uptake in particular in the substrate with low P mobility. The function of the root hairs for anchoring did not result in different depth profiles of the root length density between genotypes. Both maize genotypes showed a marked response to substrate. This was well reflected in the spatiotemporal development of rhizosphere volume fraction but especially in the strong response of root diameter to substrate, irrespective of genotype.</p><p>The most salient root plasticity trait was root diameter in response to substrate, whereas coping mechanisms for missing root hairs were less evident. Further experiments are required to elucidate whether observed differences can be explained by mechanical properties beyond mechanical impedance, root or microbiome ethylene production or differences in diffusion processes within the root or the rhizosphere.</p>


2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pan Yuan ◽  
Guang-Da Ding ◽  
Hong-Mei Cai ◽  
Ke-Mo Jin ◽  
Martin Roger Broadley ◽  
...  

Genes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Asim ◽  
Zia Ullah ◽  
Fangzheng Xu ◽  
Lulu An ◽  
Oluwaseun Olayemi Aluko ◽  
...  

Root system architecture (RSA) is required for the acquisition of water and mineral nutrients from the soil. One of the essential nutrients, nitrate (NO3−), is sensed and transported by nitrate transporters NRT1.1 and NRT2.1 in the plants. Nitrate transporter 1.1 (NRT1.1) is a dual-affinity nitrate transporter phosphorylated at the T101 residue by calcineurin B-like interacting protein kinase (CIPKs); it also regulates the expression of other key nitrate assimilatory genes. The differential phosphorylation (phosphorylation and dephosphorylation) strategies and underlying Ca2+ signaling mechanism of NRT1.1 stimulate lateral root growth by activating the auxin transport activity and Ca2+-ANR1 signaling at the plasma membrane and the endosomes, respectively. NO3− additionally functions as a signal molecule that forms a signaling system, which consists of a vast array of transcription factors that control root system architecture that either stimulate or inhibit lateral and primary root development in response to localized and high nitrate (NO3−), respectively. This review elucidates the so-far identified nitrate transporters, nitrate sensing, signal transduction, and the key roles of nitrate transporters and its downstream transcriptional regulatory network in the primary and lateral root development in Arabidopsis thaliana under stress conditions.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yalong Kang ◽  
Xiangrui An ◽  
Yanwei Ma ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
Wenli Wu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Root system architecture (RSA) is highly plastic, responding to nutrient availability and the heterogeneity of the soil environment. However, the linkage of root morphology to anatomy and root nutrient, and its implication for root function at the heterogeneous application of bio-organic and chemical fertilizer have not yet been defined, especially for pear trees.Results: In this study, a split-root experiment was conducted using 1-year old ‘Cuiguan’ trees. No fertilizer (NF), chemical fertilizer (CF), and bio-organic fertilizer (BIO) were paired to test six combinations: NF-NF, NF-CF, NF-BIO, CF-CF, BIO-BIO, and BIO-CF. Root morphological, anatomical traits and root nutrient concentrations, and their relationships were determined. Trees receiving BIO had significantly higher lateral root numbers, activity, total lateral root length, and specific root length than trees receiving no BIO, while the effects on root tissue density were the direct opposite. Compared with CF-CF treatment, root xylem thickness, stele diameter, vessel diameter, and number of vessels all increased in response to BIO-CF treatment. Root growth was synergistically promoted in BIO-CF, with increased special root length and root nitrogen concentration, but root tissue density and the carbon:nitrogen ratio were reduced. Intriguingly, the synergistic effect resulted in greater trunk girth without sacrificing height, compared to trees receiving CF or BIO alone.Conclusions: The combination of BIO and CF improves root traits and tree growth, suggesting that using bio-organic fertilizer as a supplement to reduce the application rate of chemical fertilizer is beneficial to orchard ecosystems.


DNA Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 407-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohua Wang ◽  
Yanling Chen ◽  
Catherine L. Thomas ◽  
Guangda Ding ◽  
Ping Xu ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 1886 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marek Širl ◽  
Tereza Šnajdrová ◽  
Dolores Gutiérrez-Alanís ◽  
Joseph G. Dubrovsky ◽  
Jean Phillipe Vielle-Calzada ◽  
...  

The At-Hook Motif Nuclear Localized Protein (AHL) gene family encodes embryophyte-specific nuclear proteins with DNA binding activity. They modulate gene expression and affect various developmental processes in plants. We identify AHL18 (At3G60870) as a developmental modulator of root system architecture and growth. AHL18 is involved in regulation of the length of the proliferation domain and number of dividing cells in the root apical meristem and thereby, cell production. Both primary root growth and lateral root development respond according to AHL18 transcription level. The ahl18 knock-out plants show reduced root systems due to a shorter primary root and a lower number of lateral roots. This change results from a higher number of arrested and non-developing lateral root primordia (LRP) rather than from a decreased LRP initiation. The over-expression of AHL18 results in a more extensive root system, longer primary roots, and increased density of lateral root initiation events. AHL18 is thus involved in the formation of lateral roots at both LRP initiation and their later development. We conclude that AHL18 participates in modulation of root system architecture through regulation of root apical meristem activity, lateral root initiation and emergence; these correspond well with expression pattern of AHL18.


2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 142-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shady A. Mottaleb ◽  
Essam Darwish ◽  
Menna Mostafa ◽  
Gehan Safwat

Abstract Soil salinity causes an annual deep negative impact to the global agricultural economy. In this study, the effects of salinity on early seedling physiology of two Egyptian cotton (Gossypium barbadense L.) cultivars differing in their salinity tolerance were examined. Also the potential use of a low cost mini-rhizotron system to measure variation in root system architecture (RSA) traits existing in both cultivars was assessed. Salt tolerant cotton cultivar ‘Giza 90’ produced significantly higher root and shoot biomass, accumulated lower Na+/K+ ratio through a higher Na+ exclusion from both roots and leaves as well as synthesized higher proline contents compared to salt sensitive ‘Giza 45’ cultivar. Measuring RSA in mini-rhizotrons containing solid MS nutrient medium as substrate proved to be more precise and efficient than peat moss/sand mixture. We report superior values of main root growth rate, total root system size, main root length, higher number of lateral roots and average lateral root length in ‘Giza 90’ under salinity. Higher lateral root density and length together with higher root tissue tolerance of Na+ ions in ‘Giza 90’ give it an advantage to be used as donor genotype for desirable root traits to other elite cultivars.


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