Catholic University of Louvain (UCL) - Earth and Life Institute; Ghent University - Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics; KU Leuven - UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology
Umeå University - Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology; Palacký University Olomouc - Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research; Institute of Experimental Botany AS CR
Ghent University - Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics; KU Leuven - UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology; University of Nottingham - Plant and Crop Sciences; University of Nottingham - Centre for Plant Integrative Biology
University of Nottingham - Plant and Crop Sciences; University of Nottingham - Centre for Plant Integrative Biology; Pennsylvania State University - Department of Plant Science
Efficient soil exploration by roots represents an important target for crop improvement and food security [1, 2]. Lateral root (LR) formation is a key trait for optimising soil foraging for crucial resources such as water and nutrients. Here, we report a adaptive response termed xerobranching, exhibited by ceral roots, that represses branching when root tips are not in contact with wet soil. Non-invasive X-ray microCT imaging revealed that cereal roots rapidly repress LR formation as they enter an air space within a soil profile and are no longer in contact with water. Transcript profiling of cereal root tips revealed that transient water deficit triggers the ABA response pathway. In agreement with this, exogenous ABA treatment can mimic repression of LR formation under transient water deficit. Genetic analysis in Arabidopsis revealed that ABA repression of LR formation requires the PYR/PYL/RCAR-dependent signalling pathway. Our findings suggest that ABA acts as the key signal regulating xerobranching. We conclude that this new ABA-dependent adaptive mechanism allows roots to rapidly respond to changes in water availability in their local microenvironment and to use internal resources efficiently.
Orman-Ligeza, Beata and Morris, Emily C. and Parizot, Boris and Lavigne, Tristan and Babé, Aurelie and Ligeza, Aleksander and Klein, Stephanie and Sturrock, Craig and Xuan, Wei and Novák, Ondřey and Ljung, Karin and Rodriguez, Pedro L. and Fernandez, Maria and Dodd, Ian C. and De Smet, Ive and Chaumont, Francois and Batoko, Henri and Périlleux, Claire and Lynch, Jonathan P. and Bennett, Malcolm J. and Beeckman, Tom and Draye, Xavier, The Xerobranching Response Represses Lateral Root Formation When Roots Are Not in Contact With Water (2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3188447 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3188447
This version of the paper has not been formally peer reviewed.
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