The root as a drill: An ethylene-auxin interaction facilitates root penetration in soil

Plant roots forage the soil for water and nutrients and overcome the soil's physical compactness. Roots are endowed with a mechanism that allows them to penetrate and grow in dense media such as soil. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this process are still poorly understood. The nat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plant signaling & behavior 2012-02, Vol.7 (2), p.151-156
Main Authors: Santisree, Parankusam, Nongmaithem, Sapana, Sreelakshmi, Yellamaraju, Ivanchenko, Maria, Sharma, Rameshwar
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
1-MCP
Auxin transport
Binding
Biological Transport - genetics
Biology
Bioscience
BSO
Calcium
Cancer
Cell
Cycle
Cyclopropanes - pharmacology
ethylene
Ethylenes - metabolism
Indoleacetic Acids - metabolism
Indoleacetic Acids - pharmacology
Landes
mechanical impedance
Mutation
Organogenesis
pct1-2
PIN1
Plant Growth Regulators - metabolism
Plant Growth Regulators - pharmacology
Plant Proteins - genetics
Plant Proteins - metabolism
Plant Roots - drug effects
Plant Roots - growth & development
Plant Roots - metabolism
Proteins
root penetration
Seedlings - growth & development
Signal Transduction - drug effects
Soil
Solanum lycopersicum - genetics
Solanum lycopersicum - growth & development
Solanum lycopersicum - metabolism
tomato
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Summary:Plant roots forage the soil for water and nutrients and overcome the soil's physical compactness. Roots are endowed with a mechanism that allows them to penetrate and grow in dense media such as soil. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this process are still poorly understood. The nature of the media in which roots grow adds to the difficulty to in situ analyze the mechanisms underlying root penetration. Inhibition of ethylene perception by application of 1-methyl cyclopropene (1-MCP) to tomato seedlings nearly abolished the root penetration in Soilrite. The reversal of this process by auxin indicated operation of an auxin-ethylene signaling pathway in the regulation of root penetration. The tomato pct1-2 mutant that exhibits an enhanced polar transport of auxin required higher doses of 1-MCP to inhibit root penetration, indicating a pivotal role of auxin transport in this process. In this update we provide a brief review of our current understanding of molecular processes underlying root penetration in higher plants.
ISSN:1559-2316
1559-2324
1559-2324
DOI:10.4161/psb.18936