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Baca Cabrera JC, Vanderborght J, Couvreur V, Behrend D, Gaiser T, Nguyen TH, Lobet G. Root hydraulic properties: An exploration of their variability across scales. PLANT DIRECT 2024; 8:e582. [PMID: 38590783 PMCID: PMC10999368 DOI: 10.1002/pld3.582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Revised: 02/26/2024] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024]
Abstract
Root hydraulic properties are key physiological traits that determine the capacity of root systems to take up water, at a specific evaporative demand. They can strongly vary among species, cultivars or even within the same genotype, but a systematic analysis of their variation across plant functional types (PFTs) is still missing. Here, we reviewed published empirical studies on root hydraulic properties at the segment-, individual root-, or root system scale and determined its variability and the main factors contributing to it. This corresponded to a total of 241 published studies, comprising 213 species, including woody and herbaceous vegetation. We observed an extremely large range of variation (of orders of magnitude) in root hydraulic properties, but this was not caused by systematic differences among PFTs. Rather, the (combined) effect of factors such as root system age, driving force used for measurement, or stress treatments shaped the results. We found a significant decrease in root hydraulic properties under stress conditions (drought and aquaporin inhibition, p < .001) and a significant effect of the driving force used for measurement (hydrostatic or osmotic gradients, p < .001). Furthermore, whole root system conductance increased significantly with root system age across several crop species (p < .01), causing very large variation in the data (>2 orders of magnitude). Interestingly, this relationship showed an asymptotic shape, with a steep increase during the first days of growth and a flattening out at later stages of development. We confirmed this dynamic through simulations using a state-of-the-art computational model of water flow in the root system for a variety of crop species, suggesting common patterns across studies and species. These findings provide better understanding of the main causes of root hydraulic properties variations observed across empirical studies. They also open the door to better representation of hydraulic processes across multiple plant functional types and at large scales. All data collected in our analysis has been aggregated into an open access database (https://roothydraulic-properties.shinyapps.io/database/), fostering scientific exchange.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan C. Baca Cabrera
- Institute of Bio‐ and Geoscience, Agrosphere (IBG‐3)Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbHJülichGermany
| | - Jan Vanderborght
- Institute of Bio‐ and Geoscience, Agrosphere (IBG‐3)Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbHJülichGermany
| | - Valentin Couvreur
- Earth and Life InstituteUniversité catholique de LouvainLouvain‐la‐NeuveBelgium
| | - Dominik Behrend
- Institute of Crop Science and Resources ConservationUniversity of BonnBonnGermany
| | - Thomas Gaiser
- Institute of Crop Science and Resources ConservationUniversity of BonnBonnGermany
| | - Thuy Huu Nguyen
- Institute of Crop Science and Resources ConservationUniversity of BonnBonnGermany
| | - Guillaume Lobet
- Institute of Bio‐ and Geoscience, Agrosphere (IBG‐3)Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbHJülichGermany
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Liu Y, Nadezhdina N, Hu W, Clothier B, Duan J, Li X, Xi B. Evaporation-driven internal hydraulic redistribution alleviates root drought stress: Mechanisms and modeling. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2023; 193:1058-1072. [PMID: 37350505 DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiad364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Revised: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023]
Abstract
Many tree species have developed extensive root systems that allow them to survive in arid environments by obtaining water from a large soil volume. These root systems can transport and redistribute soil water during drought by hydraulic redistribution (HR). A recent study revealed the phenomenon of evaporation-driven hydraulic redistribution (EDHR), which is driven by evaporative demand (transpiration). In this study, we confirmed the occurrence of EDHR in Chinese white poplar (Populus tomentosa) through root sap flow measurements. We utilized microcomputed tomography technology to reconstruct the xylem network of woody lateral roots and proposed conceptual models to verify EDHR from a physical perspective. Our results indicated that EDHR is driven by the internal water potential gradient within the plant xylem network, which requires 3 conditions: high evaporative demand, soil water potential gradient, and special xylem structure of the root junction. The simulations demonstrated that during periods of extreme drought, EDHR could replenish water to dry roots and improve root water potential up to 38.9% to 41.6%. This highlights the crucial eco-physiological importance of EDHR in drought tolerance. Our proposed models provide insights into the complex structure of root junctions and their impact on water movement, thus enhancing our understanding of the relationship between xylem structure and plant hydraulics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Liu
- Laboratory for Silviculture and Forest Ecosystem in Arid- and Semi-Arid Region of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 10083, China
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Silviculture and Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Nadezhda Nadezhdina
- Institute of Forest Botany, Dendrology and Geobiocenology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska 3, Brno 61300, Czech Republic
| | - Wei Hu
- New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Ltd., Private Bag 4707, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
| | - Brent Clothier
- New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Ltd., Fitzherbert Science Centre, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand
| | - Jie Duan
- Laboratory for Silviculture and Forest Ecosystem in Arid- and Semi-Arid Region of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 10083, China
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Silviculture and Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Ximeng Li
- College of Life and Environmental Science, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Benye Xi
- Laboratory for Silviculture and Forest Ecosystem in Arid- and Semi-Arid Region of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 10083, China
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Silviculture and Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
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Bacher H, Montagu A, Herrmann I, Walia H, Schwartz N, Peleg Z. Stress-induced deeper rooting introgression enhances wheat yield under terminal drought. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2023; 74:4862-4874. [PMID: 36787201 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erad059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Water scarcity is the primary environmental constraint affecting wheat growth and production and is increasingly exacerbated due to climatic fluctuation, which jeopardizes future food security. Most breeding efforts to improve wheat yields under drought have focused on above-ground traits. Root traits are closely associated with various drought adaptability mechanisms, but the genetic variation underlying these traits remains untapped, even though it holds tremendous potential for improving crop resilience. Here, we examined this potential by re-introducing ancestral alleles from wild emmer wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccoides) and studied their impact on root architecture diversity under terminal drought stress. We applied an active sensing electrical resistivity tomography approach to compare a wild emmer introgression line (IL20) and its drought-sensitive recurrent parent (Svevo) under field conditions. IL20 exhibited greater root elongation under drought, which resulted in higher root water uptake from deeper soil layers. This advantage initiated at the pseudo-stem stage and increased during the transition to the reproductive stage. The increased water uptake promoted higher gas exchange rates and enhanced grain yield under drought. Overall, we show that this presumably 'lost' drought-induced mechanism of deeper rooting profile can serve as a breeding target to improve wheat productiveness under changing climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harel Bacher
- The Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
- Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA
| | - Aviad Montagu
- The Institute of Environmental Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Ittai Herrmann
- The Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Harkamal Walia
- Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA
| | - Nimrod Schwartz
- The Institute of Environmental Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Zvi Peleg
- The Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
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Rishmawi L, Bauget F, Protto V, Bauland C, Nacry P, Maurel C. Natural variation of maize root hydraulic architecture underlies highly diverse water uptake capacities. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2023; 192:2404-2418. [PMID: 37052178 PMCID: PMC10315320 DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiad213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Revised: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Plant water uptake is determined by the root system architecture and its hydraulic capacity, which together define the root hydraulic architecture. The current research aims at understanding the water uptake capacities of maize (Zea mays), a model organism and major crop. We explored the genetic variations within a collection of 224 maize inbred Dent lines and successively defined core genotype subsets to access multiple architectural, anatomical, and hydraulic parameters in the primary root (PR) and seminal roots (SR) of hydroponically grown seedlings. We found 9-, 3.5-, and 12.4-fold genotypic differences for root hydraulics (Lpr), PR size, and lateral root size, respectively, that shaped wide and independent variations of root structure and function. Within genotypes, PR and SR showed similarities in hydraulics and, to a lesser extent, in anatomy. They had comparable aquaporin activity profiles that, however, could not be explained by aquaporin expression levels. Genotypic variations in the size and number of late meta xylem vessels were positively correlated with Lpr. Inverse modeling further revealed dramatic genotypic differences in the xylem conductance profile. Thus, tremendous natural variation of maize root hydraulic architecture underlies a high diversity of water uptake strategies and paves the way to quantitative genetic dissection of its elementary traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louai Rishmawi
- IPSiM, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, INRAE, Institut Agro, 34060 Montpellier, France
| | - Fabrice Bauget
- IPSiM, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, INRAE, Institut Agro, 34060 Montpellier, France
| | - Virginia Protto
- IPSiM, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, INRAE, Institut Agro, 34060 Montpellier, France
| | - Cyril Bauland
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, CNRS, AgroParisTech, GQE—Le Moulon, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Philippe Nacry
- IPSiM, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, INRAE, Institut Agro, 34060 Montpellier, France
| | - Christophe Maurel
- IPSiM, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, INRAE, Institut Agro, 34060 Montpellier, France
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Lu Y, Fricke W. Diurnal changes in apoplast bypass flow of water and ions in salt-stressed wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). PHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM 2023; 175:e13955. [PMID: 37323067 DOI: 10.1111/ppl.13955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Revised: 05/29/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to quantify the contribution of apoplastic bypass flow to the uptake of water and salt across the root cylinder of wheat and barley during day and night. Plants were grown on hydroponics until they were 14-17 days old and then analysed over a single day (16 h) or night (8 h) period while being exposed to different concentrations of NaCl (50, 100, 150 and 200 mM NaCl). Exposure to salt started just before the experiment (short-term stress) or had started 6d before (longer-term stress). Bypass flow was quantified using the apoplastic tracer dye 8-hydroxy-1,3,6-pyrenesulphonic acid (PTS). The percent contribution of bypass flow to root water uptake increased in response to salt stress and during the night and amounted to up to 4.4%. Bypass flow across the root cylinder of Na+ and Cl- made up 2%-12% of the net delivery of these ions to the shoot; this percentage changed little (wheat) or decreased (barley) during the night. Changes in the contribution of bypass flow to the net uptake of water, Na+ and Cl- in response to salt stress and day/night are the combined result of changes in xylem tension, the contribution of alternative cell-to-cell flow path and the requirement to generate xylem osmotic pressure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingying Lu
- School of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University College Dublin, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
| | - Wieland Fricke
- School of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University College Dublin, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
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Bäurle I, Laplaze L, Martin A. Preparing for an uncertain future: molecular responses of plants facing climate change. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2023; 74:1297-1302. [PMID: 36516413 PMCID: PMC10010605 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erac493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
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Bauget F, Protto V, Pradal C, Boursiac Y, Maurel C. A root functional-structural model allows assessment of the effects of water deficit on water and solute transport parameters. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2023; 74:1594-1608. [PMID: 36515073 PMCID: PMC10010609 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erac471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Root water uptake is driven by a combination of hydrostatic and osmotic forces. Water transport was characterized in primary roots of maize seedlings grown hydroponically under standard and water deficit (WD) conditions, as induced by addition of 150 g l-1 polyethylene glycol 8000 (water potential= -0.336 MPa). Flow measurements were performed using the pressure chamber technique in intact roots or on progressively cut root system architectures. To account for the concomitant transport of water and solutes in roots under WD, we developed within realistic root system architectures a hydraulic tree model integrating both solute pumping and leak. This model explains the high spontaneous sap exudation of roots grown in standard conditions, the non-linearity of pressure-flow relationships, and negative fluxes observed under WD conditions at low external hydrostatic pressure. The model also reveals the heterogeneity of driving forces and elementary radial flows throughout the root system architecture, and how this heterogeneity depends on both plant treatment and water transport mode. The full set of flow measurement data obtained from individual roots grown under standard or WD conditions was used in an inverse modeling approach to determine their respective radial and axial hydraulic conductivities. This approach allows resolution of the dramatic effects of WD on these two components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabrice Bauget
- Institute for Plant Sciences of Montpellier (IPSiM), Univ Montpellier, CNRS, INRAE, Institut Agro, Montpellier, France
| | - Virginia Protto
- Institute for Plant Sciences of Montpellier (IPSiM), Univ Montpellier, CNRS, INRAE, Institut Agro, Montpellier, France
| | - Christophe Pradal
- CIRAD, UMR AGAP Institute, Montpellier, France
- Inria & LIRMM, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Montpellier, France
| | - Yann Boursiac
- Institute for Plant Sciences of Montpellier (IPSiM), Univ Montpellier, CNRS, INRAE, Institut Agro, Montpellier, France
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Lu Y, Fricke W. Changes in root hydraulic conductivity in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in response to salt stress and day/night can best be explained through altered activity of aquaporins. PLANT, CELL & ENVIRONMENT 2023; 46:747-763. [PMID: 36600451 PMCID: PMC10107167 DOI: 10.1111/pce.14535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/01/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Salt stress reduces plant water flow during day and night. It is not known to which extent root hydraulic properties change in parallel. To test this idea, hydroponically grown wheat plants were grown at four levels of salt stress (50, 100, 150 and 200 mM NaCl) for 5-8d before harvest (d14-18) and subjected to a range of analyses to determine diurnal changes in hydraulic conductivity (Lp) at cell, root and plant level. Cell pressure probe analyses showed that the Lp of cortex cells was differentially affected by salt stress during day and night, and that the response to salt stress differed between the main axis of roots and lateral roots. The Aquaporin (AQP) inhibitor H2 O2 reduced Lp to a common, across treatments, level as observed in salt-stressed plants during the night. Analyses of transpiring plants and exuding root systems provided values of root Lp which were in the same range as values modeled based on cell-Lp. The results can best be explained through a change in root Lp in response to salt stress and day/night, which results from an altered activity of AQPs. qPCR gene expression analyses point to possible candidate AQP isoforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingying Lu
- School of Biology and Environmental SciencesUniversity College DublinDublinIreland
| | - Wieland Fricke
- School of Biology and Environmental SciencesUniversity College DublinDublinIreland
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Fernandez R, Crabos A, Maillard M, Nacry P, Pradal C. High-throughput and automatic structural and developmental root phenotyping on Arabidopsis seedlings. PLANT METHODS 2022; 18:127. [PMID: 36457133 PMCID: PMC9714072 DOI: 10.1186/s13007-022-00960-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND High-throughput phenotyping is crucial for the genetic and molecular understanding of adaptive root system development. In recent years, imaging automata have been developed to acquire the root system architecture of many genotypes grown in Petri dishes to explore the Genetic x Environment (GxE) interaction. There is now an increasing interest in understanding the dynamics of the adaptive responses, such as the organ apparition or the growth rate. However, due to the increasing complexity of root architectures in development, the accurate description of the topology, geometry, and dynamics of a growing root system remains a challenge. RESULTS We designed a high-throughput phenotyping method, combining an imaging device and an automatic analysis pipeline based on registration and topological tracking, capable of accurately describing the topology and geometry of observed root systems in 2D + t. The method was tested on a challenging Arabidopsis seedling dataset, including numerous root occlusions and crossovers. Static phenes are estimated with high accuracy ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] for primary and second-order roots length, respectively). These performances are similar to state-of-the-art results obtained on root systems of equal or lower complexity. In addition, our pipeline estimates dynamic phenes accurately between two successive observations ([Formula: see text] for lateral root growth). CONCLUSIONS We designed a novel method of root tracking that accurately and automatically measures both static and dynamic parameters of the root system architecture from a novel high-throughput root phenotyping platform. It has been used to characterise developing patterns of root systems grown under various environmental conditions. It provides a solid basis to explore the GxE interaction controlling the dynamics of root system architecture adaptive responses. In future work, our approach will be adapted to a wider range of imaging configurations and species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Romain Fernandez
- CIRAD, UMR AGAP Institut, 34398, Montpellier, France
- UMR AGAP Institut, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, INRAE, Institut Agro, Montpellier, France
| | - Amandine Crabos
- Institute for Plant Sciences of Montpellier (IPSiM), Univ Montpellier, CNRS, INRAE, Institut Agro, Montpellier, France
| | - Morgan Maillard
- Institute for Plant Sciences of Montpellier (IPSiM), Univ Montpellier, CNRS, INRAE, Institut Agro, Montpellier, France
| | - Philippe Nacry
- Institute for Plant Sciences of Montpellier (IPSiM), Univ Montpellier, CNRS, INRAE, Institut Agro, Montpellier, France.
| | - Christophe Pradal
- CIRAD, UMR AGAP Institut, 34398, Montpellier, France.
- UMR AGAP Institut, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, INRAE, Institut Agro, Montpellier, France.
- Inria & LIRMM, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Montpellier, France.
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Wege S. The flow of water: Critical factors of root axial water transport determined. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2022; 190:1083-1084. [PMID: 35916741 PMCID: PMC9516755 DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiac349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
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