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Cabrera J, Conesa CM, Del Pozo JC. May the dark be with roots: a perspective on how root illumination may bias in vitro research on plant-environment interactions. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2022; 233:1988-1997. [PMID: 34942016 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Roots anchor plants to the soil, providing them with nutrients and water while creating a defence network and facilitating beneficial interactions with a multitude of living organisms and climatological conditions. To facilitate morphological and molecular studies, root research has been conducted using in vitro systems. However, under natural conditions, roots grow in the dark, mainly in the absence of illumination, except for the relatively low illumination of the upper soil surface, and this has been largely ignored. Here, we discuss the results found over the last decade on how experimental exposure of roots to light may bias root development and responses through the alteration of hormonal signalling, cytoskeleton organization, reactive oxygen species or the accumulation of flavonoids, among other factors. Illumination alters the uptake of nutrients or water, and also affects the response of the roots to abiotic stresses and root interactions with the microbiota. Furthermore, we review in vitro systems created to maintain roots in darkness, and provide a comparative analysis of root transcriptomes obtained with these devices. Finally, we identify other experimental variables that should be considered to better mimic soil conditions, whose improvement would benefit studies using in vitro cultivation or enclosed ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Cabrera
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid-Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria/Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UPM-INIA/CSIC), UPM, Campus de Montegancedo, Pozuelo de Alarcón, 28223, Madrid, Spain
| | - Carlos M Conesa
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid-Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria/Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UPM-INIA/CSIC), UPM, Campus de Montegancedo, Pozuelo de Alarcón, 28223, Madrid, Spain
- Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Agroambiental y de Biosistemas (ETSIAAB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Campus de Montegancedo, Pozuelo de Alarcón, 28223, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan C Del Pozo
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid-Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria/Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UPM-INIA/CSIC), UPM, Campus de Montegancedo, Pozuelo de Alarcón, 28223, Madrid, Spain
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Shahan R, Hsu CW, Nolan TM, Cole BJ, Taylor IW, Greenstreet L, Zhang S, Afanassiev A, Vlot AHC, Schiebinger G, Benfey PN, Ohler U. A single-cell Arabidopsis root atlas reveals developmental trajectories in wild-type and cell identity mutants. Dev Cell 2022; 57:543-560.e9. [PMID: 35134336 DOI: 10.1101/2020.06.29.178863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Revised: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
In all multicellular organisms, transcriptional networks orchestrate organ development. The Arabidopsis root, with its simple structure and indeterminate growth, is an ideal model for investigating the spatiotemporal transcriptional signatures underlying developmental trajectories. To map gene expression dynamics across root cell types and developmental time, we built a comprehensive, organ-scale atlas at single-cell resolution. In addition to estimating developmental progressions in pseudotime, we employed the mathematical concept of optimal transport to infer developmental trajectories and identify their underlying regulators. To demonstrate the utility of the atlas to interpret new datasets, we profiled mutants for two key transcriptional regulators at single-cell resolution, shortroot and scarecrow. We report transcriptomic and in vivo evidence for tissue trans-differentiation underlying a mixed cell identity phenotype in scarecrow. Our results support the atlas as a rich community resource for unraveling the transcriptional programs that specify and maintain cell identity to regulate spatiotemporal organ development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Shahan
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Che-Wei Hsu
- Department of Biology, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany; The Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Trevor M Nolan
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Benjamin J Cole
- Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA 94598, USA
| | - Isaiah W Taylor
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Laura Greenstreet
- Department of Mathematics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Canada
| | - Stephen Zhang
- Department of Mathematics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Canada
| | - Anton Afanassiev
- Department of Mathematics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Canada
| | - Anna Hendrika Cornelia Vlot
- The Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, 10115 Berlin, Germany; Department of Computer Science, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Geoffrey Schiebinger
- Department of Mathematics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Canada
| | - Philip N Benfey
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
| | - Uwe Ohler
- Department of Biology, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany; The Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, 10115 Berlin, Germany; Department of Computer Science, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
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