Root growth

Reduction in Root Secondary Growth as a Strategy for Phosphorus Acquisition

C. F Strock, L. M. de la Riva J. Lynch, Penn State University, United States

This article looks at the effect of Phosphorus availability on root growth. The authors tested the hypothesis that reduced root secondary growth of dicotyledonous species improves phosphorus acquisition.

Biostiulant Effects of Seed-Applied Sedaxane Fungicide: Morphological and Physiological Changes in Maize Seedlings

C. Dal Cortivo (1*), G. B. Conselvan (1*), P. Carletti (1*), G. Barion (1*), L. Sella (2*), T Vamerali (1*), University of Padua, Padua, Italy

A recently published study by the University of Padua shows that a seed treatment with the SDHI fungicide sedaxane can facilitate root establishment and intensify nitrogen and phenylpropanoid metabolism in young maize plants. The paper by Professor Vamerali and his team states that this may be beneficial in overcoming biotic and abiotic stresses at early growth stages.

  • doi: 10.3389/fpls.2017.02072

*1Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and the Environment, University of Padua, Padua, Italy,

*2Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

Tuned in: plant roots use sound to locate water

M. Gagliano (1*), M. Grimonprez (1*), M. Depczynski (2,3*) and M. Renton (4*)

Interesting theory on what means plants can use to sense moisture. To read more please follow the below links.

*1 Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Animal Biology, University of Western Australia, Australia
*2 Australian Institute of Marine Science, Australia
*3 Oceans Institute University of Western Australia, Australia
*4 School of Plant BiologyUniversity of Western Australia, Australia

Environmental Control of Root System Biology

R. Rellán-Álvarez (1*), G. Lobet (2,3*) and J. R. Dinneny (4*)

The authors define aspects of the multidimensional biology of root systems aimed at developing a holistic understanding of root environment interactions. They describe the nature of the soil environment and how important properties of the soil vary at the micro scale, macro scale, and global scale. Their review further discusses the architectural properties of root systems and how mathematical and computational approaches to modeling root systems is enabling a systems-level understanding of the functional properties of these organs. Finally, they define the biological context in which root environment interactions act, providing an overview of the root types, tissues, and molecular pathways involved in controlling root growth and environmental responses to nutrients and salinity.

*1 Laboratorio Nacional de Genomica para la Biodiversidad (Langebio), Unidad de Genomica Avanzada, Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politecnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN), Mexico
*2 PhytoSYSTEMS, University of Liège, Belgium
*3 Institut für Bio- und Geowissenschaften: Agrosphaere, Forschungszentrum Juelich, Germany
*4 Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, California

Mechanisms for root growth

A. P. Maehoenen, Academy Researcher, University of Helsinki, Finland

Academy Research Fellow Ari Pekka Maehoenen and his colleagues at the University of Helsinki have demonstrated how PLETHORA proteins and plant hormone auxin together orchestrate root growth.

New factors that influence root growth

Prof. M. Bennet, Chair of Plant Science, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom

Plant Scientist Professor Malcolm Bennett has been recognized for his contribution to revealing the mechanisms that control root growth and development in plants.

The RootChip: a new tool to study root growth

Carnegie Institute for Sciences, United States

The RootChip: a new tool to study roots, developed at the Carnegie Institute for Sciences, allows scientists to study roots on eight individual seedlings at the same time whilst altering their growth environments simultaneously or independently. See more about this tool, which might also be interesting to plant pathologists looking at Root Health: