This title appears in the Scientific Report :
2021
Observation of root shrinkage and reduced root water uptake
Observation of root shrinkage and reduced root water uptake
Observation of root shrinkage and reduced root water uptakeDagmar van Dusschoten and Yannik MüllersIBG-2, Plant Sciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany.The importance of root-soil water contact was recognized in the 1970s and ‘80s as a main factor in the efficiency of root water uptake (RWU). Se...
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Personal Name(s): | van Dusschoten, Dagmar (Corresponding author) |
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Muellers, Yannik | |
Contributing Institute: |
Pflanzenwissenschaften; IBG-2 |
Imprint: |
2021
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Conference: | The 11th Symposium of the International Society of ROot Research and Rooting 2021, Missouri (USA), 2021-05-24 - 2021-05-28 |
Document Type: |
Abstract |
Research Program: |
Für eine nachhaltige Bio-Ökonomie – von Ressourcen zu Produkten |
Publikationsportal JuSER |
Observation of root shrinkage and reduced root water uptakeDagmar van Dusschoten and Yannik MüllersIBG-2, Plant Sciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany.The importance of root-soil water contact was recognized in the 1970s and ‘80s as a main factor in the efficiency of root water uptake (RWU). Several studies indicated that roots shrink when the soil becomes dry while even exhibiting a day-night rhythm [1]. However, over the years the main focus had shifted to the reduction of the soil water potential upon drying and the accompanying reduction of the soil water conductivity to explain reduced RWU upon soil drying. Also, considerable efforts have been made to identify the importance of aquaporins for root conductivity. Recently, it was demonstrated in an indirect manner that root shrinkage is indeed a main factor in water uptake efficiency [2]. Based on this we devised some experiments to investigate this topic with two complementary, non-invasive technologies which observe both root function and root structure.We performed time series of root water uptake measurements on three different plant species (Zea mays, Vicia faba and Helianthus annuus) using the Soil Water Profiler (SWaP) [3] while the plants were depleting available soil water, yielding a soil water content gradient with most of the water remaining at the bottom. Simultaneously, the profile of RWU shifted to deeper soil layers as particularly the upper soil layers became drier. After this series the root system was scanned using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) two times, once directly after the SWaP measurements and once after re-watering. This combination of MRI measurements showed that roots themselves had lost considerable amounts of water during soil water depletion which was more pronounced at the top than at the bottom. The uptake pattern by the roots also showed that uptake is primarily reduced in the root zones exhibiting the largest water loss. This indicates a strong correlation between the two observations and is a good indicator that root-soil contact is important. Root diameter reduction clearly is an under-researched topic which deserves more attention both from an experimental and a modeling point of view. [1] M.G. Huck, B. Klepper and H.M. Taylor, Plant Physiol. (1970), 45. [2] C.M. Rodriguez‐Dominguez, T.J. Brodribb, New Phytol. (2020) 225. [3] D. van Dusschoten et. al, Plant Physiol (2020), 183. |