Advances in understanding plant root responses to root-feeding insects

2021 ◽  
pp. 231-266
Author(s):  
Scott N. Johnson ◽  
◽  
Ximena Cibils-Stewart ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Root ◽  
Plant Roots ◽  
Insect Herbivores ◽  
Soil Environment ◽  
Knowledge Gaps ◽  
Root Herbivores ◽  
Mutualistic Fungi ◽  
Root Responses ◽  
Insect Attack ◽  
Root Feeding

This chapter presents an overview of the interactions between plant roots and root-feeding insect herbivores, focussing on changes in growth and physiology and crucially how roots are defended against insect attack. Several reviews have covered the ecology and management of insect root herbivores, together with their interactions with the abiotic and biotic soil environment. Therefore, the chapter focuses particularly on advances in our understanding of how plant mutualistic fungi may affect root-herbivores. This is an emerging area of research, with many attendant knowledge gaps, but we argue that this is an important component of how plants resist attack by belowground insect herbivores.

scholarly journals Host plant recognition by the root feeding clover weevil, Sitona lepidus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

2004 ◽  
Vol 94 (5) ◽  
pp. 433-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.N. Johnson ◽  
P.J. Gregory ◽  
P.J. Murray ◽  
X Zhang ◽  
I.M. Young
Keyword(s):  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Trifolium Subterraneum ◽  
Plant Roots ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
Movement Rates ◽  
Sitona Lepidus ◽  
Macro Scale ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Invasive Techniques ◽  
Root Feeding

AbstractThis study investigated the ability of neonatal larvae of the root-feeding weevil, Sitona lepidus Gyllenhal, to locate white clover Trifolium repens L. (Fabaceae) roots growing in soil and to distinguish them from the roots of other species of clover and a co-occurring grass species. Choice experiments used a combination of invasive techniques and the novel technique of high resolution X-ray microtomography to non-invasively track larval movement in the soil towards plant roots. Burrowing distances towards roots of different plant species were also examined. Newly hatched S. lepidus recognized T. repens roots and moved preferentially towards them when given a choice of roots of subterranean clover, Trifolium subterraneum L. (Fabaceae), strawberry clover Trifolium fragiferum L. (Fabaceae), or perennial ryegrass Lolium perenneL. (Poaceae). Larvae recognized T. repens roots, whether released in groups of five or singly, when released 25 mm (meso-scale recognition) or 60 mm (macro-scale recognition) away from plant roots. There was no statistically significant difference in movement rates of larvae.

scholarly journals Model Test of the Reinforcement of Surface Soil by Plant Roots under the Influence of Precipitation

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Hengxing Wang ◽  
Yulong He ◽  
Zufeng Shang ◽  
Chunpeng Han ◽  
Yilu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Model Test ◽  
Surface Soil ◽  
Plant Root ◽  
Root Systems ◽  
Reinforced Soil ◽  
Plant Roots ◽  
Interfacial Friction ◽  
Negative Power ◽  
Pull Out

We present the results of the reinforcement of plant root systems in surface soil in a model test to simulate actual precipitation conditions. In the test, Eleusine indica was selected as herbage to reinforce the soil. Based on the various moisture contents of plant roots in a pull-out test, a fitting formula describing the interfacial friction strength between the roots and soil and soil moisture content was obtained to explain the amount of slippage of the side slope during the process of rainfall. The experimental results showed that the root systems of plants successfully reinforced soil and stabilized the water content in the surface soil of a slope and that the occurrence time of landslides was delayed significantly in the grass-planting slope model. After the simulated rainfall started, the reinforcement effect of the plant roots changed. As the rainfall increased, the interfacial friction between the roots and the soil exhibited a negative power function relationship with the water content. These conclusions can be used as a reference for the design of plant slope protection and reinforcement.

scholarly journals OPTIMALISASI PRODUKSI ENZIM KITINASE PADA ISOLAT JAMUR KITINOLITIK DARI SAMPEL TANAH RIZOSFER

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (01) ◽  
pp. 62-69
Author(s):  
Eka Corneliyawati ◽  
Massora Massora ◽  
Khikmah Khikmah ◽  
As’ad Syamsul Arifin
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Rhizosphere Soil ◽  
Plant Root ◽  
Optimal Growth ◽  
Chitinase Activity ◽  
Fungal Species ◽  
Plant Roots ◽  
Chitinase Production

The rhizosphere is the zone of soil surrounding a plant root where plant roots, soil and the soil biota interact with each other. Chitinolytic fungi has been effectively used in biological control agens. The chitinase activity causes lysis of the fungi cell wall pathogen. The aim of the research was to find optimization of activity chitinase enzyme from rhizosphere soil was conducted in vitro. Optimal growth chitinase production for TKR3 fungi isolate were concentration of chitin 0,2% (b/v), pH 5,5, temperature 30ºC, agitation 150 rpm and incubation time at four days. The optimum yield of chitinase production is influenced by fungal species and environmental conditions.

scholarly journals Bacterial Community Members Increase Bacillus subtilis Maintenance on the Roots of Arabidopsis thaliana

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 303-313
Author(s):  
Noam Eckshtain-Levi ◽  
Susanna Leigh Harris ◽  
Reizo Quilat Roscios ◽  
Elizabeth Anne Shank
Keyword(s):  
Arabidopsis Thaliana ◽  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Plant Root ◽  
Plant Roots ◽  
Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Root Microbiome ◽  
Over Time

Plant-growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) are used to improve plant health and promote crop production. However, because some PGPB (including Bacillus subtilis) do not maintain substantial colonization on plant roots over time, it is unclear how effective PGPB are throughout the plant growing cycle. A better understanding of the dynamics of plant root community assembly is needed to develop and harness the potential of PGPB. Although B. subtilis is often a member of the root microbiome, it does not efficiently monoassociate with plant roots. We hypothesized that B. subtilis may require other primary colonizers to efficiently associate with plant roots. We utilized a previously designed hydroponic system to add bacteria to Arabidopsis thaliana roots and monitor their attachment over time. We inoculated seedlings with B. subtilis and individual bacterial isolates from the native A. thaliana root microbiome either alone or together. We then measured how the coinoculum affected the ability of B. subtilis to colonize and maintain on A. thaliana roots. We screened 96 fully genome-sequenced strains and identified five bacterial strains that were able to significantly improve the maintenance of B. subtilis. Three of these rhizobacteria also increased the maintenance of two strains of B. amyloliquefaciens commonly used in commercially available bioadditives. These results not only illustrate the utility of this model system to address questions about plant–microbe interactions and how other bacteria affect the ability of PGPB to maintain their relationships with plant roots but also may help inform future agricultural interventions to increase crop yields. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license .

scholarly journals The MAD1 Adhesin of Metarhizium anisopliae Links Adhesion with Blastospore Production and Virulence to Insects, and the MAD2 Adhesin Enables Attachment to Plants

2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 808-816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengshu Wang ◽  
Raymond J. St Leger
Keyword(s):  
Metarhizium Anisopliae ◽  
Plant Root ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Plant Roots ◽  
Insect Cuticle ◽  
Plant Surface ◽  
Adhesive Properties ◽  
Regional Localization ◽  
Expression Of Genes ◽  
Ecological Versatility

ABSTRACT Metarhizium anisopliae is a fungus of considerable metabolic and ecological versatility, being a potent insect pathogen that can also colonize plant roots. The mechanistic details of these interactions are unresolved. We provide evidence that M. anisopliae adheres to insects and plants using two different proteins, MAD1 and MAD2, that are differentially induced in insect hemolymph and plant root exudates, respectively, and produce regional localization of adhesive conidial surfaces. Expression of Mad1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae allowed this yeast to adhere to insect cuticle. Expression of Mad2 caused yeast cells to adhere to a plant surface. Our study demonstrated that as well as allowing adhesion to insects, MAD1 at the surface of M. anisopliae conidia or blastospores is required to orientate the cytoskeleton and stimulate the expression of genes involved in the cell cycle. Consequently, the disruption of Mad1 in M. anisopliae delayed germination, suppressed blastospore formation, and greatly reduced virulence to caterpillars. The disruption of Mad2 blocked the adhesion of M. anisopliae to plant epidermis but had no effects on fungal differentiation and entomopathogenicity. Thus, regulation, localization, and specificity control the functional distinction between Mad1 and Mad2 and enable M. anisopliae cells to adapt their adhesive properties to different habitats.

scholarly journals The Biocontrol Agent and Insect Pathogen Photorhabdus luminescens Interacts with Plant Roots

2020 ◽  
Vol 86 (17) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Regaiolo ◽  
Nazzareno Dominelli ◽  
Karsten Andresen ◽  
Ralf Heermann
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Pest Management ◽  
Root Exudates ◽  
Biological Control Agent ◽  
Plant Root ◽  
Specific Interaction ◽  
Plant Roots ◽  
Photorhabdus Luminescens ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Root Interactions

ABSTRACT The number of sustainable agriculture techniques to improve pest management and environmental safety is rising, as biological control agents are used to enhance disease resistance and abiotic stress tolerance in crops. Here, we investigated the capacity of the Photorhabdus luminescens secondary variant to react to plant root exudates and their behavior toward microorganisms in the rhizosphere. P. luminescens is known to live in symbiosis with entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) and to be highly pathogenic toward insects. The P. luminescens-EPN relationship has been widely studied, and this combination has been used as a biological control agent; however, not much attention has been paid to the putative lifestyle of P. luminescens in the rhizosphere. We performed transcriptome analysis to show how P. luminescens responds to plant root exudates. The analysis highlighted genes involved in chitin degradation, biofilm regulation, formation of flagella, and type VI secretion system. Furthermore, we provide evidence that P. luminescens can inhibit growth of phytopathogenic fungi. Finally, we demonstrated a specific interaction of P. luminescens with plant roots. Understanding the role and the function of this bacterium in the rhizosphere might accelerate the progress in biocontrol manipulation and elucidate the peculiar mechanisms adopted by plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria in plant root interactions. IMPORTANCE Insect-pathogenic Photorhabdus luminescens bacteria are widely used in biocontrol strategies against pests. Very little is known about the life of these bacteria in the rhizosphere. Here, we show that P. luminescens can specifically react to and interact with plant roots. Understanding the adaptation of P. luminescens in the rhizosphere is highly important for the biotechnological application of entomopathogenic bacteria and could improve future sustainable pest management in agriculture.

Root-colonizing and soil-borne communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in a temperate forest understorey

Botany ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 92 (4) ◽  
pp. 277-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ülle Saks ◽  
John Davison ◽  
Maarja Öpik ◽  
Martti Vasar ◽  
Mari Moora ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Plant Root ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽  
Small Subunit ◽  
Plant Roots ◽  
Individual Plant ◽  
Amf Communities ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal ◽  
Phylogenetic Dispersion

We analyzed arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) communities in plant root samples from a natural forest ecosystem — a primeval forest in Järvselja, Estonia. AMF small-subunit (SSU) ribosomal RNA genes were subjected to 454-pyrosequencing and BLAST-based taxonomic identification. Seventy-six AMF sequence groups (virtual taxa, VT) were identified from plant roots. Taken together with seven additional VT recorded in an earlier investigation of soil AMF communities at the site, this represents the highest number of AMF reported from a single ecosystem to date. The six study plant species hosted similar AMF communities. However, AMF community composition in plant roots was significantly different from that in soil and considerably more VT were retrieved from roots than from soil. AMF VT identified from plant roots as a whole and from individual plant species were frequently phylogenetically clustered compared with local and global taxon pools, suggesting that nonrandom assembly processes, notably habitat filtering, may have shaped fungal assemblages. In contrast, the phylogenetic dispersion of AMF communities in soil did not differ from random subsets of the local or global taxon pools.

scholarly journals “Endomicrobia” and Other Bacteria Associated with the Hindgut of Dermolepida albohirtum Larvae

2007 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 762-767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey W. Pittman ◽  
Stevens M. Brumbley ◽  
Peter G. Allsopp ◽  
Scott L. O'Neill
Keyword(s):  
Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Food Source ◽  
Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Plant Root ◽  
Agricultural Crops ◽  
Symbiotic Associations ◽  
Gradient Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Feeding Activities ◽  
Geographic Regions ◽  
Root Feeding

ABSTRACT Symbiotic bacteria residing in the hindgut chambers of scarab beetle larvae may be useful in paratransgenic approaches to reduce larval root-feeding activities on agricultural crops. We compared the bacterial community profiles associated with the hindgut walls of individual Dermolepida albohirtum third-instar larvae over 2 years and those associated with their plant root food source among different geographic regions. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis was used with universal and Actinobacteria-specific 16S rRNA primers to reveal a number of taxa that were found consistently in all D. albohirtum larvae but not in samples from their food source, sugarcane roots. These taxa included representatives from the “Endomicrobia,” Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria and were related to previously described bacteria from the intestines of other scarab larvae and termites. These universally distributed taxa have the potential to form vertically transmitted symbiotic associations with these insects.

scholarly journals MISIRoot: A Robotic Minimum Invasion in Situ Imaging System for Plant Root Phenotyping

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhihang Song ◽  
Wei Qiu ◽  
Jian Jin
Keyword(s):  
Plant Protection ◽  
Plant Root ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
3D Structure ◽  
Color Images ◽  
Plant Roots ◽  
Natural Soil ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Root Phenotyping

Abstract Background: Plant root phenotyping technologies play an important role in breeding, plant protection, and other plant science research projects. The root phenotyping customers urgently need technologies that are low-cost, in situ, non-destructive to the roots, and suitable for the natural soil environment. Many recently developed root phenotyping methods such as minirhizotron, X-CT, and MRI scanners have their unique advantages in observing plant roots, but they also have disadvantages and cannot meet all the critical requirements simultaneously. Results: The study in this paper focuses on the development of a new plant root phenotyping robot that is minimally invasive to plants and working in situ inside natural soil, called “MISIRoot”. The MISIRoot system mainly consists of an industrial-level robotic arm, a mini-size camera with lighting set, a plant pot holding platform, and the image processing software for root recognition and feature extraction. MISIRoot can take high-resolution color images of the roots in soil with minimal disturbance to the root and reconstruct the plant roots’ three-dimensional (3D) structure at an accuracy of 0.1 mm. In a test assay, well-watered and drought-stressed groups of corn plants were measured by MISIRoot at V3, V4, and V5 stages. The system successfully acquired the RGB color images of the roots and extracted the 3D points cloud data containing the locations of the detected roots. The plants measured by MISIRoot and plants not measured (control) were carefully compared with the results from the Hyperspectral Imaging Facility (reference). No significant differences were found between the two groups of plants at different growth stages. Conclusion: The MISIRoot system recently developed at Purdue University has been proved effective in root phenotyping with multiple advantages: With a comparatively low cost and minimal invasion to the plant, this system can automatically measure the root’s 3D structure and take color images of the roots in ordinary soil media, and in situ. This system provides a new option for root phenotyping researchers and has a potential to be applied in a wide range of research topics such as breeding, plant protection and so on.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document