Root responses to abiotic stress: a comparative look at root system architecture in maize and sorghum
Date
2024-01-10
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Experimental Botany
Abstract
Under all environments, roots are important for plant anchorage and acquiring water and nutrients. However, there is a knowledge gap regarding how root architecture contributes to stress tolerance in a changing climate. Two closely related plant species, maize and sorghum, have distinct root system architectures and different levels of stress tolerance, making comparative analysis between these two species an ideal approach to resolve this knowledge gap. However, current research has focused on shared aspects of the root system that are advantageous under abiotic stress conditions rather than on differences. Here we summarize the current state of knowledge comparing the root system architecture relative to plant performance under water deficit, salt stress, and low phosphorus in maize and sorghum. Under water deficit, steeper root angles and deeper root systems are proposed to be advantageous for both species. In saline soils, a reduction in root length and root number has been described as advantageous, but this work is limited. Under low phosphorus, root systems that are shallow and wider are beneficial for topsoil foraging. Future work investigating the differences between these species will be critical for understanding the role of root system architecture in optimizing plant production for a changing global climate.
Description
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in Journal of Experimental Botany following peer review. The version of record Ashley N Hostetler, Sylvia Morais de Sousa Tinoco, Erin E Sparks, Root responses to abiotic stress: a comparative look at root system architecture in maize and sorghum, Journal of Experimental Botany, Volume 75, Issue 2, 10 January 2024, Pages 553–562, https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erad390 is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erad390. © The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com. This article will be embargoed until 01/10/2025.
Keywords
abiotic stress, cereal crops, drought, maize, phosphorus, Poaceae, root system architecture, salinity, sorghum
Citation
Ashley N Hostetler, Sylvia Morais de Sousa Tinoco, Erin E Sparks, Root responses to abiotic stress: a comparative look at root system architecture in maize and sorghum, Journal of Experimental Botany, Volume 75, Issue 2, 10 January 2024, Pages 553–562, https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erad390