Grasses suppress shoot-borne roots to conserve water during drought
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- Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, CA 94305,
- Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, CA 94305,, Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil, Brasilia-DF 70.040-020, Brazil,
- Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, CA 94305,, Unidad de Genómica Avanzada, Laboratorio Nacional de Genómica para la Biodiversidad, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, 36821 Irapuato, Mexico,
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO 63162,
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea,
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO 63162,, Plant Physiology and Genetics Research, Agricultural Research Unit, US Department of Agriculture, St. Louis, MO 63132,
- Crop Functional Genomics, Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation, University of Bonn, D-53113 Bonn, Germany
Many important crops are members of the Poaceae family, which develop root systems characterized by a high degree of root initiation from the belowground basal nodes of the shoot, termed the crown. Although this postembryonic shoot-borne root system represents the major conduit for water uptake, little is known about the effect of water availability on its development. Here in this study, we demonstrate that in the model C4 grass Setaria viridis, the crown locally senses water availability and suppresses postemergence crown root growth under a water deficit. This response was observed in field and growth room environments and in all grass species tested. Luminescence-based imaging of root systems grown in soil-like media revealed a shift in root growth from crown-derived to primary root-derived branches, suggesting that primary root-dominated architecture can be induced in S. viridis under certain stress conditions. Crown roots of Zea mays and Setaria italica, domesticated relatives of teosinte and S. viridis, respectively, show reduced sensitivity to water deficit, suggesting that this response might have been influenced by human selection. Lastly, enhanced water status of maize mutants lacking crown roots suggests that under a water deficit, stronger suppression of crown roots actually may benefit crop productivity.
- Research Organization:
- Carnegie Inst. of Science, Stanford, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0008769
- OSTI ID:
- 1263687
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1469568
- Journal Information:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Vol. 113 Journal Issue: 31; ISSN 0027-8424
- Publisher:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
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