Organic Acids Secreted from Plant Roots under Soil Stress and Their Effects on Ecological Adaptability of Plants

[Objective] In this study,the secretion of organic acids from plant roots under soil nutrient and water stress and the effects of organic acids on ecological adaptability of plants were investigated,which provided theoretical basis for improving the adaptability of plants to a variety of stress conditions.The results showed that,under nutrient and water stress,the content of organic acids secreted from plant roots increased significantly as a common active adaptive response.Organic acids could improve the activities of a variety of antioxidant enzymes,contents of osmotic regulatory substances,contents of chlorophyll and photosynthesis levels,promote nutrient absorption and transportation in plants,and ultimately contribute to plant growth and biomass accumulation,reduce the toxicity of stress conditions to plants and improve the stress resistance and adaptability of plants.

Influence of environment and substrate quality on the decomposition of wetland plant root in the Sanjiang Plain,Northeast China

The litterbag method was used to study the decomposition of wetland plant root in three wetlands along a water level gradient in the Sanjiang Plain,Northeast China.These wetlands are Calamagrostis angustifolia(C.aa),Carex meyeriana(C.ma)and Carex lasiocarpa (C.la).The objective of our study is to evaluate the influence of environment and substrate quality on decomposition rates in the three wetlands.Calico material was used as a standard substrate to evaluate environmental influences.Roots native to each we...

Effect of Plant Roots on Penetrability and Anti-Scouri-bility of Red Soil Derived from Granite

Distribution of plant roots in a red soil derived from granite was investigated to study the effect of plantroots on intensifying soil penetrability and anti-scouribility by the double-cutting-ring and the undisturbedsoil-flume methods, respectively. The plant roots system consisting mostly of fibrils, < 1 mm in diameter,was mainly distributed in the upper surface soil 30 cm in depth. It can remarhably increase the penetrabilityand anti-scouribility of the red soil derived from granite. When the root density was > 0.35 root cm-2, theintensifying effect of roots on both the penetrability and the anti-scouribility could be described by exponentequations, △ Ks = 0.0021RD1.4826 (R2 = 0.9313) and △ As = 0.0003RD1.8478 (R2 = O.9619), where △ Ks isthe value of intensified soil penetrability, a As the value of intensified soil anti-scouribility and RD the rootdensity, especially in the top soils within 30 cm in depth where plant roots were conceotrated.

Digital biofabrication to realize the potentials of plant roots for product design

Technological and economic opportunities,alongside the apparent ecological benefits,point to biodesign as a new industrial paradigm for the fabrication of products in the twenty-first century.The presented work studies plant roots as a biodesign material in the fabrication of self-supported 3D structures,where the biologically and digitally designed materials provide each other with structural stability.Taking a material-driven design approach,we present our systematic tinkering activities with plant roots to better understand and anticipate their responsive behaviour.These helped us to identify the key design parameters and advance the unique potential of plant roots to bind discrete porous structures.We illustrate this binding potential of plant roots with a hybrid 3D object,for which plant roots connect 600 computationally designed,optimized,and fabricated bioplastic beads into a low stool.

Testing allometric scaling relationships in plant roots

Background:Metabolic scaling theory predicts that plant productivity and biomass are both size-dependent.However,this theory has not yet been tested in plant roots.Methods:In this study,we tested how metabolic scaling occurs in plants using a comprehensive plant root dataset made up of 1016 observations from natural habitats.We generated metabolic scaling exponents by logtransformation of root productivity versus biomass.Results:Results showed that the metabolic scaling exponents of fine root(<2mm in diameter)productivity versus biomass were close to 1.0 for all ecosystem types and functional groups.Scaling exponents decreased in coarse roots(>2mm in diameter).Conclusions:We found isometric metabolic scaling in fine roots,a metabolically active organ similar to seedlings or saplings.Our findings also indicate a shift in metabolic scaling during plant development.Overall,our study supports the absence of any unified single constant scaling exponent for metabolism-biomass relationships in terrestrial plants,especially for forests with woody species.

Pitfalls and Uncertainties of Using Potentiometric Titration for Estimation of Plant Roots Surface Charge and Acid-Base Properties

Amount and properties of roots surface charge are important for nutrient uptake and balance in plants. Roots surface charge markedly varies at different rizosphere conditions (particularly pH and ionic strength), which can markedly alter during vegetation season. Among recently available measuring methods, surface charge-pH dependence of roots (as well as other biological objects) is most easily evaluated by potentiometric titration. Use of this method is also easy at different ionic strengths. Potentiometric titration also allows for estimation of the distribution of charge generating surface groups. However, many applications of this method seem to be based either on incorrect methodical or theoretical approaches. In this paper we discuss the methodical and theoretical backgrounds of the titration method. Basing on experimental titration curves of roots of barley grown in nutrient solution, we show inconsistency of surface charge results obtained at different measuring conditions. Limitations of theoretical interpretations of the results are outlined also.

New Method for Measurement of Plant Roots Specific Surface

To provide enough space to carry all surface charges responsible for high cation exchange capacity of plant roots, large area of the root specific surface is necessary, however all experimental methods used up to date give too small surface area values. In this paper, we propose to measure the plant roots surface area using water vapor adsorption isotherm. This method gives roots specific surface areas compatible to CEC. Methodical aspects of the measurements are described along with theoretical background for calculating specific surface area on the example of roots of barley grown in nutrient solution.

Determination of Energetic and Geometric Properties of Plant Roots Specific Surface from Adsorption/Desorption Ishoterm

Background and Aims: Structure and composition of plant roots surfaces are extremely complicated. Water vapor adsorption/desorption isotherm is a powerful tool to characterize such surfaces. The aim of this paper is to present theoretical approach for calculating roots surface parameters as adsorption energy, distribution of surface adsorption centers, as well as roots geometric and structure parameters as surface fractal dimension, nanopore sizes and size distributions on example of experimental isotherms of roots of barley taken from the literature. This approach was up to date practically not applied to study plant roots. Methods: Simplest tools of theoretical analysis of adsorption/desorption isotherms are applied. Results: Parameters characterizing energy of water binding, surface complexity and nanopore system of the studied roots were calculated and compared to these of the soils. Some possible applications of root surface parameters to study plant-soil interactions are outlined. Conclusions: Physicochemical surface parameters may be important for characterizing root surface properties, their changes in stress conditions, as well as for study and model plant processes. Physicochemical and geometrical properties of plant roots differ from these of the soils.

Effects of loading rate on root pullout performance of two plants in the eastern Loess Plateau,China

Root pullout performance of plants is an important mechanical basis for soil reinforcement by plant roots in the semi-arid areas.Studies have shown that it is affected by plant factors(species,ages,root geometry,etc.)and soil factors(soil types,soil moisture,soil bulk densities,etc.).However,the effects of loading rates on root pullout performance are not well studied.To explore the mechanical interactions under different loading rates,we conducted pullout tests on Medicago sativa L.and Hippophae rhamnoides L.roots under five loading rates,i.e.,5,50,100,150,and 200 mm/min.In addition,tensile tests were conducted on the roots in diameters of 0.5-2.0 mm to compare the relationship between root tensile properties and root pullout properties.Results showed that two root failure modes,slippage and breakage,were observed during root pullout tests.All M.sativa roots were pulled out,while 72.2%of H.rhamnoides roots were broken.The maximum fracture diameter and fracture root length of H.rhamnoides were 1.22 mm and 7.44 cm under 100 mm/min loading rate,respectively.Root displacement values were 4.63%(±0.43%)and 8.91%(±0.52%)of the total root length for M.sativa and H.rhamnoides,respectively.The values of maximum pullout force were 14.6(±0.7)and 17.7(±1.8)N under 100 mm/min for M.sativa and H.rhamnoides,respectively.Values of the maximum pullout strength for M.sativa and H.rhamnoides were 38.38(±5.48)MPa under 150 mm/min and 12.47(±1.43)MPa under 100 mm/min,respectively.Root-soil friction coefficient under 100 mm/min was significantly larger than those under other loading rates for both the two species.Values of the maximum root pullout energy for M.sativa and H.rhamnoides were 87.83(±21.55)mm•N under 100 mm/min and 173.53(±38.53)mm•N under 200 mm/min,respectively.Root pullout force was significantly related to root diameter(P<0.01).Peak root pullout force was significantly affected by loading rates when the effect of root diameter was included(P<0.01),and vice versa.Except for the failure mode and peak pullout force,other pullout parameters,including root pullout strength,root displacement,root-soil friction coefficient,and root pullout energy were not significantly affected by loading rates(P>0.05).Root pullout strength was greater than root tensile strength for the two species.The results suggested that there was no need to deliberately control loading rate in root pullout tests in the semi-arid soil,and root pullout force and pullout strength could be better parameters for root reinforcement model compared with root tensile strength as root pullout force and pullout strength could more realistically reflect the working state of roots in the semi-arid soil.

A Bioinspired Robot Growing like Plant Roots

Plants are usually considered static organisms,but they can perform a wide range of movements that can be a source of inspiration for robots.The roots’growing motion is the most noteworthy since they are excellent diggers that can move in unstructured environments and navigate past barriers.Furthermore,root growth has a high energy efficiency since it penetrates the soil at its tip,adding new material without displacing the already grown portion,minimizing the energy dissipation due to friction and lowering the inertia.A robot inspired by the growth of roots could be used in search and rescue or environmental monitoring.The design of a soft robot inspired by root growth is presented in this article.The robot body consists of a cylindrical plastic membrane folded inside itself.The robot body is inflated,and its tip is everted,expanding its length as air is blown from the base.Velcro straps are placed on the membrane’s exterior surface to keep it folded.The head is positioned inside the tip,which houses the mechanism that controls the growth direction.It consists of housing for two balloons that are selectively inflated,and their expansion applies pressure on the exterior surface,opening the Velcro straps and determining the growth direction.The robot was constructed,and a kinematic model of its motion in the plane was created and compared with experimental data.The error in predicting the turning angle is only 5%,and the resulting predicted position differs on average by 55 mm on a total length of 850 mm.

Broad Hormonal Responses Induced by Aluminum in Roots of Dwarf Transgenics of Solanum lycopersicum L. cv “Micro-Tom”

The spatial pattern distribution of plant hormones in response to aluminum (Al) toxicity in roots remains to be shown. This study was performed to assess the root hormonal accumulation and gene expression in response to Al toxicity in five transgenic miniature dwarf tomatoes cv. Micro-Tom (MT). MT and MT transgenics to acid indole acetic, cytokinin, gibberellin, abscisic acid and ethylene were cultivated in nutrient solutions containing different Al concentrations. Root growth elongation was measured and cellular damage was visualized by staining Evans’s blue. The GUS reporter gene staining technique was used to visualize hormonal changes in MT apex root tissues. Data indicated that the MT is sensitive to Al that induced significant growth inhibition and cellular damage. Al concentration of 27 μM was significantly toxic, inducing root apex darkening and inhibition of root development. The qualitative evaluation of GUS reporter gene expression showed intense crosstalk among all hormones studied, underscoring the complexity of signaling induced by Al in apex roots. Results point out to a major understanding of the hormonal signaling in response to Al toxicity, which may induce a change of root growth and architecture with growth inhibition and cell constraints modulated by all different hormones evaluated.

EFFECTIVENESS OF PLANT ROOTS TO INCREASE THE ANTI-SCOURABILITY OF SOIL ON THE LOESS PLATEAU

The recent study results show that the intensification ability of plant roots to the anti-scourability of soil mainly depends on the distribution and twining of effective root density in the soil profile, and the physical basis of effective root density is the number of

EFFECTIVENESS OF PLANT ROOTS ON INCREASING THE SOIL PERMEABILITY ON THE LOESS PLATEAU

Studies show that retaining water and infiltrating rainfall into soil by constructing artificial vegetation on the slope land of the loess rolling and gullied regions are the crux measures in increasing soil permeability and controlling soil erosion. Many researches on

PRELIMINARY STUDY ON MECHANISM OF PLANT ROOTS TO INCREASE SOIL ANTISCOURIBILITY ON THE LOESS PLATEAU

The effects of the root system of trees, shrubs and grasses on the hydraulic andphysical properties of soil and their interrelation with increasing soil anti--scouribility byroots are quantitatively demonstrated in this paper for the first time. Based on the analysisof the leading factors of roots to increase the soil anti--scouribility, a mathematical modelon increasing soil anti-scouribility by roots is established. The value in application of themodel is to explain the mechanism of roots to increase the soil anti-scouribility and toevaluate the increasing effects of soil anti-scouribility by roots in different layers of soilThe calculated results of the values in soil anti--scouribility intensified by roots at variousintensities of rainfall and slopes of the model have higher precision, all of the meanmaximum deviations between the estimated and observed values being less than 1.417 s/g.

Root structure of slope protection plants in a high-grade highway

Root length and root length density of Lespedeza bicolor,Amorpha fruticosa,and Sea buckthorn were investigated in a country highway-TongSan highway（Tongjiang to Sanya） in Heilongjiang Province,China.The root lengths were divided into five root orders according to Pregizter sequence classification method.Results show that sea buckthorn roots are dominated by coarse roots in the horizontal growth,while L.bicolor has a large proportion of fine roots in vertical conical growth and A.fruticosa is in depth growth.Root length density of L.bicolor in all the root sequences is higher than that of sea buckthorn and A.fruticosa.On the basis of the root structure,it is inferred that L.bicolor roots mainly absorb the surface soil moisture for its normal growth;in contrast,A.fruticosa has good uptake ability to deep soil water.The root structure of sea buckthorn implies that it has a strong drought resistance.

Physical mechanisms of plant roots affecting weathering and leaching of loess soil

Plant roots have potential impacts on soil mineral weathering and leaching.Our objective is to understand the physical mechanisms of plant roots affecting weathering andleaching of loess soil. Root densities were measured through the method of a large-size dug profile,and transport fluxes of soil elements were determined using an undisturbed monolith soilinfiltration device on the hilly and gully regions of the Chinese Loess Plateau. The results showthat the improvement effects of soil environment by plant roots are mainly controlled by the densityand weight of the fibrous roots with the diameters less than 1 mm. Plant roots have the strongereffects on soil physical properties than chemical properties. The principal components analysis(PCA) indicates that soil physical properties by plant roots account for 56.7% of variations in soilenvironment whereas soil chemical properties and pH contribute about 24.2% of the soil variations.The roles of plant roots in controlling soil weathering and leaching increased in the followingorder: infiltration enhancement 】 increase of bio-active substance 】 stabilization of soilstructure. The effects of plant roots on soil mineral weathering and leaching can be quantifiedusing the multiple regression models with the high prediction accuracies developed in this study.

Fast and abundant in vitro spontaneous haustorium formation in root hemiparasitic plant Pedicularis kansuensis Maxim. (Orobanchaceae)

Haustorium formation is the characteristic feature of all parasitic plants and a vital process for successful parasitism.Previous investigations on haustorium initiation and development are constricted to induced processes by host-derived signals or synthetic analogs.Spontaneous haustorium formation in the absence of host signals,a process representing an early stage in the evolution of parasitic plants,remains largely unexplored.Lack of fast and frequent formation of spontaneous haustoria greatly hinders full understanding of haustorium formation in root hemiparasites.In this study,seedlings of Pedicularis kansuensis Maxim.,a facultative root hemiparasitic species in Orobanchaceae observed to produce many spontaneous haustoria,were grown in autoclaved water agar in the absence of any known haustoriuminducing stimulants.We aimed to test the temporal and developmental pattern of spontaneous haustorium formation.Also,effects of sucrose supply and root contact on spontaneous haustorium formation were tested.Spontaneous haustoria were observed starting from six days after germination,much earlier than previously reported root hemiparasites.A majority of the spontaneous haustoria formed on lateral roots.Percentage of seedlings with spontaneous haustoria was 28.8% when grown on water agar plates,with a mean of four haustoria per seedling two weeks after germination.Haustorium formation by seedlings grown in water agar amended with 2% sucrose was more than twice of those without sucrose amendment.Singly grown seedlings were able to develop spontaneous haustoria at similar levels as those grown with another conspecific seedling.In view of the fast and abundant formation of spontaneous haustoria,P.kansuensis may be developed as an excellent experimental system in future investigations for unraveling endogenous regulation of haustorium initiation and development in root hemiparasitic plants.

Mutual Information Flow between Beneficial Microorganisms and the Roots of Host Plants Determined the Bio-Functions of Biofertilizers

Modern agriculture is facing new challenges in which ecological and molecular approaches are being integrated to achieve higher crop yields while minimizing negative impacts on the environment. The application of biofertilzers could meet this requirement. Biofertilizer is a natural organic fertilizer that helps to provide all the nutrients required by the plants and helps to increase the quality of the soil with a natural microorganism environment. This paper reviewed the types of biofertilzers, the biological basic of biofertilizers in plant growth promotion. This paper also assayed the bidirectional information exchange between plant-microbes in rhizoshpere and the signal pathway of plant growth- promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and plant growth-promoting fungi (PGPF) in the course of plant infection. At last, the challenges of the application and the promising future of biofertilizers were also discussed.

Effects of Planting Methods on Root Yield and Nutrient Removal of Five Cassava Cultivars Planted in Late Rainy Season in Northeastern Thailand

The objectives of this study were to evaluate growth, yield and nutrients removal of five cassava cultivars planted by different planting methods in late rainy season of northeastern Thailand. A split plot design was used in this study. The planting methods (vertical and horizontal) were assigned as main-plots. Cassava cultivars (Rayong-7, Rayong-11, Rayong-72, Huaybong-80 and E-dum) were assigned as sub-plots with four replications. Results showed that vertical planting gave significantly higher fresh storage root yield than those of horizontal planting, across five cassava cultivars. The cultivar Rayong-7 produced maximum fresh storage root yield across two planting methods, but not significantly different from Rayong 11, Huaybong 80 and Edum cultivars. Irrespective of nutrient removal, N, P and K removed ranges from 2.9 - 3.6, 0.8 - 1.3 and 5.3 - 7.9 kg per ton fresh root weight, respectively depending on cassava cultivar. The cultivar Rayong-7 removed the highest quantities of N, and the cultivar Rayong-11 removed maximum of P and K in the present study. Regardless of nutrient removal at different plant parts;N, P and K removed maximum quantities in leaf, stem and storage root, respectively. Planting method had no significant effect on N and P removal, but significant effect on K removal. The vertical planting removed K higher than those of horizontal planting.

Effects of Two Composted Plant Pesticide Residues,Incorporated with Trichoderma viride,on Root-Knot Nematode in Balloonflower

Plant pesticide residues, such as chinaberry （Melia toosendan） residue and sand cypress （Sabina vulgaris） residue, are pesticidal plant materials discarded after the bioactive ingredient has been extracted with organic solvents. The only option for botanical pesticide residue utilization has been as landfill. Chinaberry residue （CBR） and sand cypress residue （SCR） were collected and composted in Yangling, Shaanxi Province, China. We studied the effects of chinaberry residue compost （CBRC）, CBRC incorporated with Trichoderma viride （CBRCT）, sand cypress residue compost （SCRC）, and SCRC incorporated with T. viride （SCRCv） on the root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, infesting the balloonflower （Platycodon grandiflorum）. Bioassay results indicated that stock solutions of the CBRCT and SCRCT extracts significantly inhibited egg hatching and caused high larval mortality, followed in degree by the CBRC and SCRC extracts. The CBR and SCR extracts caused very low inhibition of eggs and larvae. Supplementing potting mixtures with these four composts reduced the severity of root galling and increased the proportion of marketable roots. The severity of root galling decreased and the average weight of the marketable roots increased with an increase in all the composts when supplemented at rates from 5 to 30%. CBR- and SCR-supplemented pot soils also inhibited the nematodes, but CBR and SCR applied to the soil had a phytotoxic effect and inhibited balloonflower growth. Supplementing field soil with the composts reduced the severity of root galling and the populations of southern root-knot nematodes in the soil. CBRCT and SCRCT clearly enhanced the average weight of the marketable roots by 30.45 and 26.64%, respectively. Continuous supplementation with CBRCT or SCRCT in the same field significantly enhanced the control of the root-knot nematode, and the populations of nematodes continued to decrease with second inoculations. The populations of total Trichoderma spp. were distinctly enhanced and were maintained at high levels for a long time in the supplemented soils.