Abstract
Phytagel media were evaluated as systems to mechanically impede roots of A. thaliana. Studying mechanical properties of Phytagel and exploring the root response to mechanical stimulation can facilitate plant culture and plant development. Breaking strengths of 0.5–2.0% phytagel media were tested by uniaxial compression test. Different phytagel concentrations were set to alter the strength of layers in growth medium. Negative correlations were observed between root length, straightness and medium strength. When roots elongated through soft upper-layer (0.6%), penetration ratio decreased with the increase of lower-layer strength (0.6–1.2%) and all roots couldn’t penetrate into lower-layer with concentration ≥1.2%. Roots could grow into soft lower-layer (0.6%) from hard upper-layer (0.6–1.2%), with decreased penetration ratio. When roots grew in soft lower-layer, the growth rate linked with upper-layer strength increased to peak. Roots penetration capability into 1.2% lower-layer was improved by growing plants through moderate layer inserted between soft and hard layer, and roots in 0.8% moderate medium have a significant higher penetration ratio than that in 1.0%. It was concluded that the Phytagel systems studied were suitable for studying the effect of mechanical impedance on the elongation of A. thaliana roots. The medium strength affected root penetration significantly and acclimation can improve root penetration capability.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Bengough AG, McKenzie B, Hallett P, Valentine T (2011) Root elongation, water stress, and mechanical impedance: a review of limiting stresses and beneficial root tip traits. J Exp Bot 62:59–68
Bochicchio R, Sofo A, Terzano R, Gattullo CE, Amato M, Scopa A (2015) Root architecture and morphometric analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana grown in Cd/Cu/Zn-gradient agar dishes: a new screening technique for studying plant response to metals. Plant Physiol Biochem 91:20–27. doi:10.1016/j.plaphy.2015.03.010
Braam J (2005) In touch: plant responses to mechanical stimuli. New Phytol 165:373–389. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2004.01263.x
Braam J, Davis RW (1990) Rain-, wind-, and touch-induced expression of calmodulin and calmodulin-related genes in Arabidopsis. Cell 60:357–364. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(90)90587-5
Buer CS, Masle J, Wasteneys GO (2000) Growth conditions modulate root-wave phenotypes in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell Physiol 41:1164–1170. doi:10.1093/pcp/pcd042
Darwin C, Darwin F (1972) The power of movement in plants. The works of Charles Darwin, vol 15. AMS Press, New York
De Pessemier J, Chardon F, Juraniec M, Delaplace P, Hermans C (2012) Natural variation of the root morphological response to nitrate supply in Arabidopsis thaliana. Mech Dev. doi:10.1016/j.mod.2012.05.010
Eissenstat DM (1992) Costs and benefits of constructing roots of small diameter. J Plant Nutr 15:763–782. doi:10.1080/01904169209364361
Ferris CJ, Gilmore KJ, Wallace GG, Panhuis MIH (2013) Modified gellan gum hydrogels for tissue engineering applications. Soft Matter 9:3705–3711. doi:10.1039/c3sm27389j
Grabov A, Ashley MK, Rigas S, Hatzopoulos P, Dolan L, Vicente-Agullo F (2005) Morphometric analysis of root shape. New Phytol 165:641-651. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2004.01258.x
Hamant O (2013) Widespread mechanosensing controls the structure behind the architecture in plants. Curr Opin Plant Biol 16:654–660. doi:10.1016/j.pbi.2013.06.006
Jin K, Shen J, Ashton RW, Dodd IC, Parry MA, Whalley WR (2013) How do roots elongate in a structured soil? J Exp Bot 64:4761–4777
Jin K et al (2015) The effect of impedance to root growth on plant architecture in wheat. Plant Soil 392:323–332. doi:10.1007/s11104-015-2462-0
Kirchmajer DM, Steinhoff B, Warren H, Clark R, Panhuis MIH (2014) Enhanced gelation properties of purified gellan gum. Carbohydr Res 388:125–129. doi:10.1016/j.carres.2014.02.018
Kuijken RCP, Snel JFH, Heddes MM, Bouwmeester HJ, Marcelis LFM (2015) The importance of a sterile rhizosphere when phenotyping for root exudation. Plant Soil 387:131–142. doi:10.1007/s11104-014-2283-6
Lodha P, Netravali AN (2005) Characterization of Phytagel® modified soy protein isolate resin and unidirectional flax yarn reinforced “green” composites. Polym Compos 26:647–659
Masle J, Passioura JB (1987) The effect of soil strength on the growth of young wheat plants. Aust J Plant Physiol 14:643–656
Massa GD, Gilroy S (2003) Touch modulates gravity sensing to regulate the growth of primary roots of Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant J 33:435–445
Migliaccio F, Tassone P, Fortunati A (2013) Circumnutation as an autonomous root movement in plants. Am J Bot 100:4–13 doi:10.3732/ajb.1200314
Perrineau F, Wimalasekera R, Effendi Y, Scherer GF (2016) Inhibition of auxin transport and auxin signaling and treatment with far red light induces root coiling in the phospholipase-A mutant ppla-I-1. Significance for surface penetration? J Plant Physiol 196–197:53–59. doi:10.1016/j.jplph.2016.03.010
Roy R, Bassham DC (2014) Root growth movements: waving and skewing. Plant Sci 221–222:42–47 doi:10.1016/j.plantsci.2014.01.007
Silverberg JL, Noar RD, Packer MS, Harrison MJ, Henley CL, Cohen I, Gerbode SJ (2012) 3D imaging and mechanical modeling of helical buckling in Medicago truncatula plant roots. Proc Nat Acad Sci 109:16794–16799
Stolz A et al (1976) Earth rotation measured by lunar laser ranging. Science 193:997–999. doi:10.1126/science.193.4257.997
Thompson MV, Holbrook NM (2004) Root-gel interactions and the root waving behavior of Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol 135:1822–1837. doi:10.1104/pp.104.040881
Valentine TA, Hallett PD, Binnie K, Young MW, Squire GR, Hawes C, Bengough AG (2012) Soil strength and macropore volume limit root elongation rates in many UK agricultural soils. Ann Bot 110:259–270. doi:10.1093/aob/mcs118
Wyatt SE, Kiss JZ (2013) Plant tropisms: from Darwin to the international space station. Am J Bot 100:1–3
Yamamoto C, Sakata Y, Taji T, Baba T, Tanaka S (2008) Unique ethylene-regulated touch responses of Arabidopsis thaliana roots to physical hardness. J Plant Res 121:509–519
Zha G, Wang B, Liu J, Yan J, Zhu L, Yang X (2016) Mechanical touch responses of Arabidopsis TCH1-3 mutant roots on inclined hard-agar surface. Int Agrophys 30:105–111
Zhu L, Wang B, Wang Y, Liu J, Yang X, Fu X (2014) A Micromechanics model for turgor pressure of Arabidopsis thaliana protoplast. J Plant Growth Regul 33:751–756 doi:10.1007/s00344-014-9421-5
Acknowledgements
We thank Guodong Zha and Peng Ren for his assistance with statistical analysis. This work was supported by the fund of National Science Foundation of China (No. 11572063).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yan, J., Wang, B. & Zhou, Y. A root penetration model of Arabidopsis thaliana in phytagel medium with different strength. J Plant Res 130, 941–950 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-017-0926-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-017-0926-4