Improving crop tolerance to environmental stresses is of paramount importance to global food security. To protect themselves from abiotic stress, plants translate environmental inputs into internal signals through...
The DER1 (deformed root hairs1) locus encodes a major vegetative actin (ACTIN2) in Arabidopsis thaliana. Mutations in DER1 lead to impaired root hair development. However, the role of this gene in overall plant...
In plant studies it is essential to determine cell cycle duration (T). Zhukovskaya et al. have previously proposed an exponential model evaluating T in the root apical meristem (RAM) based on the dynamics of root...
This review first describes the root system and then presents fundamental work that has shed light on the basic regulatory principles of root growth and development.
Auxin is the main phytohormone controlling root development in plants. Correa-Aragunde et al. grow seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana treated with auxin with or without thioredoxin reductase (NTR) inhibitors and find...
Strigolactones (SLs) and their derivatives are plant hormones that have recently been identified as regulating root development. Sun et al. study adventious roots (ARs) in SL-deficient (d10) and SL-insensitive (d3)...
A fragment of the 4D chromosome containing TaALMT1, introgressed into an elite durum cultivar, shows that the fragment enhances root growth in acid soil.
Gravitropism is the ability of a plant to turn in response to gravity. Roots have gravitropism, bending to turn down and stems negative gravitropism to turn up. But what happens if you remove a plant’s ability to...
Lab experiments are all well and good, but they do have their limitations. It is necessary to study plants outside, in the field – or rather below the surface! This theme was explored at the UKPSF conference by Nick...
Localized N supply inhibits auxin transport in roots Roots typically respond to localized nitrate patch in soils by enhancing lateral root growth. Using maize, Zea mays, grown in a split-root system, Liu et al...