MSGID: 1:317/3 64acdb0c   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Roots are capable of measuring heat on their own    
      
     Date:   
         July 10, 2023   
     Source:   
         Martin-Luther-Universita"t Halle-Wittenberg   
     Summary:   
         Plant roots have their own thermometer to measure the   
         temperature of the soil around them and they adjust their growth   
         accordingly. Through extensive experiments, a team was able to   
         demonstrate that roots have their own temperature sensing and   
         response system. In a new study, the scientists also provide a new   
         explanation for how roots themselves detect and react to higher   
         temperatures. The results could help develop new approaches for   
         plant breeding.   
      
      
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   Plant roots have their own thermometer to measure the temperature of   
   the soil around them and they adjust their growth accordingly. Through   
   extensive experiments, a team led by Martin Luther University   
   Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), was able to demonstrate that roots have their   
   own temperature sensing and response system. In a new study in The EMBO   
   Journal, the scientists also provide a new explanation for how roots   
   themselves detect and react to higher temperatures.   
      
   The results could help develop new approaches for plant breeding.   
      
   The researchers used climate chambers to investigate how the plant model   
   organism thale cress and the two crops cabbage and tomatoes react to   
   rising ambient temperatures. They increased the ambient temperature from   
   20 to 28DEGC (68 to 82.4 degrees Fahrenheit). "Until now, it was assumed   
   that the plant shoot controlled the process for the entire plant and   
   acted as a long-distance transmitter that signalled to the root that it   
   should alter its growth," says Professor Marcel Quint from the Institute   
   of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences at MLU. His team has now been   
   able to disprove this through extensive experiments in cooperation with   
   researchers from the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB),   
   ETH Zurich and the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in   
   Cologne. In one experiment, scientists cut off the shoot of the plants   
   but allowed the roots to continue to grow. "We found that the roots were   
   not affected by this and grew at elevated temperatures in the same way   
   as on plants with intact shoots. The higher temperature stimulated cell   
   division and the roots became significantly longer," says Quint. The   
   team also used mutant plants whose shoots could no longer detect and   
   respond to higher temperatures.   
      
   Those were grafted onto roots without this defect. Here, too, the roots   
   were able to react to the heat in the soil, even though the shoot did   
   nothing.   
      
   The researchers found in all of their experiments that root cells   
   increased the production of the growth hormone auxin, which was then   
   transported to the root tips. There, it stimulated cell division and   
   enabled the roots to reach further down into the soil. "As heat and   
   drought usually occur in tandem, it makes sense for the plants to tap   
   into deeper and cooler soil layers that contain water," Quint explains.   
      
   Scientists have understood how plant shoots react to higher temperatures   
   for some time. Their cells also produce more auxin, but the plant reacts   
   differently than its roots. The cells in the shoot stretch, the stalk   
   grows taller, and the leaves become narrower and grow farther apart.   
      
   The study also provides new insights for plant breeding. "In view of   
   climate change, root growth is becoming more and more important for   
   breeding.   
      
   Understanding the molecular basis for temperature-dependent root growth   
   might help to effectively equip plants against drought stress and achieve   
   stable yields in the long term," says Quint. Quint's team will continue   
   its work in this field of research in the coming years. A few weeks ago,   
   the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation)   
   granted him around 500,000 euros for a new research project on precisely   
   this topic.   
      
   The study was funded by the DFG, the Chinese Scholarship Fund, the Rosa   
   Luxemburg Foundation, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Max   
   Planck Society.   
      
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   Story Source: Materials provided by   
   Martin-Luther-Universita"t_Halle-Wittenberg. Note: Content may be edited   
   for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Haiyue Ai, Julia Bellstaedt, Kai Steffen Bartusch, Lennart   
         Eschen‐Lippold, Steve Babben, Gerd Ulrich Balcke, Alain   
         Tissier, Bettina Hause, Tonni Grube Andersen, Carolin Delker,   
         Marcel Quint.   
      
         Auxin‐dependent regulation of cell division rates governs   
         root thermomorphogenesis. The EMBO Journal, 2023; 42 (11) DOI:   
         10.15252/ embj.2022111926   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230710113829.htm   
      
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