Designing roots to reach new depths could help carbon storage in soil
IMAGE: X-RAY MICRO-COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY SCAN IMAGE OF MOREX (WILD-TYPE) AND EGT1 (MUTANT) ROOTS IN SOIL, SHOWING MAJOR DIFFERENCES IN SEMINAL ROOT GROWTH ANGLE. MUTANT ROOTS SHOW STEEPER ROOT PHENOTYPE COMPARED TO THE WILD-TYPE view more
CREDIT: DR. RICCARDO FUSI, UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM.
Scientists have discovered how to potentially design root systems to grow deeper by altering their angle growth to be steeper and reach the nutrients they need to grow, a discovery that could also help develop new ways to capture carbon in soil.
Researchers from the University of Nottingham and Bologna have discovered a key gene in barley and wheat that controls the angle of root growth. Steeper root angle helps bury carbon deeper in soil as well as improving resilience in crops to drought stress. Their findings have been published today in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The Nottingham team have discovered how a new gene (called Enhanced Gravitropism 1 or EGT1) normally controls root angle by stiffening the core of growing root tips, making it more difficult to bend downwards. However, after this gene is disrupted, the team used X-ray micro CT imaging to reveal that every different type of root has a steeper angle.
Rahul Bhosale, Assistant Professor from the School of Biosciences and the Future Food Beacon at the University of Nottingham, who co-led the research, explains: “Root angle controls how efficiently plants can capture water and nutrients. For instance, shallow roots best capture phosphate which accumulates in the top-soil region, while steeper roots are better for foraging for water and nitrate in deeper soil layers. Steeper roots are also important for helping bury carbon deeper into soil. Discovering genes like EGT1 and how they control root angle is critical for developing novel future crop varieties better able to capture nutrients and carbon.”
The international team includes researchers from the University of Adelaide, University of Bologna and Penn State University. The Nottingham team was funded by ARPA-E, BBSRC Discovery Fellowship, European Research Council, Royal Society and University of Nottingham Future Food Beacon awards.
JOURNAL
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Experimental study
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
Not applicable
ARTICLE TITLE
Root angle is controlled by EGT1 in cereal crops employing a novel anti-gravitropic mechanism
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
25-Jul-2022
Straightening out kinky roots captures carbon and avoids drought stress
Researchers have discovered a new gene in barley and wheat that controls the angle of root growth in soil, opening the door to new cereal varieties with deeper roots that are less susceptible to drought and nutrient stress, thus mitigating the effects of
Peer-Reviewed PublicationIMAGE: X-RAY MICROCT REVEALS THE ROOT 3D ARCHITECTURES OF WILD TYPE (LEFT) AND EGT1 MUTANT (RIGHT) BARLEY. view more
CREDIT: DR RICCARDO FUSI (UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM)
Researchers have discovered a new gene in barley and wheat that controls the angle of root growth in soil, opening the door to new cereal varieties with deeper roots that are less susceptible to drought and nutrient stress, thus mitigating the effects of climate change.
“The angle at which barley roots grow down into the soil enables them to capture water and nutrients from different soil layers,” said Dr Haoyu (Mia) Lou from the University of Adelaide’s School of Agriculture, Food and Wine who was joint first author on the study.
“Shallow roots enable plants to capture phosphate and surface water, while deeper, straighter roots can stabilise yield by accessing deeper water and nitrate; they can also bury carbon deeper in the soil.”
Working alongside scientists from the UK, Italy, Germany and the USA the team identified a new gene called Enhanced Gravitropism 1 (EGT1) in barley.
“By identifying the genes that control root growth angle we can greatly aid efforts to develop crops that are better adapted to specific soil types and more resilient to fluctuating environmental conditions, helping to mitigate carbon burden and counter the effects of climate change,” said Dr Lou.
“We have found that mutants lacking function of the EGT1 gene exhibit a steeper growth angle in all classes of roots.
“Remarkably, the roots behave as if they are overly sensitive to gravity – they are unable to grow outwards from the plant, and instead grow straight down.”
Australian farmers face a wide range of risks, but they are particularly exposed to variability in climate which has a flow-on effect to commodity prices. Severe droughts are frequent and prolonged with eastern and south-eastern parts of the country particularly badly affected. Coupled with rising fertiliser costs and increased pressure to achieve sustainability, there is a pressing need to develop new crop varieties better able to capture nutrients, carbon and water.
Co-author Associate Professor Matthew Tucker, Deputy Director of the Waite Research Institute said: “These findings were made possible through exciting technologies such as X-ray CT, enabling root growth to be traced in soil. They could immediately help cereal breeders to select varieties with straighter roots from their genetic stocks, or aid in the development and deployment of new EGT1 alleles in the near future.”
Dr Lou undertook the research as part of a joint PhD program with the University of Nottingham, UK. The team’s findings have been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Media contacts:
Dr Haoyu (Mia) Lou, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide.
Mobile: +61 (0)449 681 077, Email: haoyu.lou@adelaide.edu.au
Associate Professor Matthew Tucker, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide.
Mobile: +61 (0)403 314 740, Email: Matthew.tucker@adelaide.edu.au
Crispin Savage, Acting Manager, News and Media, The University of Adelaide.
Mobile: +61 (0)481 912 465, Email: crispin.savage@adelaide.edu.au
JOURNAL
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
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