Root elongation and bending require the coordinated expansion of multiple cells of different types. These processes are regulated by the action of hormones that can target distinct cell layers. We use a mathematical model to characterise the influence of the biomechanical properties of individual cell walls on the properties of the whole tissue. Taking a simple constitutive model at the cell sc...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Root diameter, especially apical diameter, plays an important role in root development and function. The variation in diameter between roots, and along roots, affects root structure and thus the root system's overall foraging performance. However, the effect of diameter variation on root elongation, branching and topological connections has not been examined systematically i...

there is no functional annotation for the majority of the several hundreds of receptor-like kinases in plants. a direct way of inferring the function of these proteins is to study the phenotype that results from loss of function mutants such as t-dna mutant lines. in this research a function (phenotype) to at2g37050 gene that encodes a receptor like kinase in arabidopsis t-dna line was assigned...

Cell expansion in plants requires cell wall biosynthesis and rearrangement. During periods of rapid elongation, such as during the growth of etiolated hypocotyls and primary root tips, cells respond dramatically to perturbation of either of these processes. There is growing evidence that this response is initiated by a cell wall integrity-sensing mechanism and dedicated signaling pathway rather...

Single and joint toxicity of chloramphenicol and Hg acting on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris L.) and corn (Zea mays L.) were investigated. The results showed positive correlations between root elongation inhibition of three plants and concentrations of pollutants added to soil (P<0.01) in test concentration range. In terms of root elongation, wheat was the mo...

To understand how root growth responds to temperature, we used kinematic analysis to quantify division and expansion parameters in the root of Arabidopsis thaliana. Plants were grown at temperatures from 15 to 30 °C, given continuously from germination. Over these temperatures, root length varies more than threefold in the wild type but by only twofold in a double mutant for phytochrome-interac...

Free oxygen radicals are an irrefutable component of life, underlying important biochemical and physiological phenomena in animals. Here it is shown that free oxygen radicals activate plasma membrane Ca(2+)- and K(+)-permeable conductances in Arabidopsis root cell protoplasts, mediating Ca(2+) influx and K(+) efflux, respectively. Free oxygen radicals generate increases in cytosolic Ca(2+) medi...

Root growth in the field is often slowed by a combination of soil physical stresses, including mechanical impedance, water stress, and oxygen deficiency. The stresses operating may vary continually, depending on the location of the root in the soil profile, the prevailing soil water conditions, and the degree to which the soil has been compacted. The dynamics of root growth responses are consid...

Response of root system architecture to nutrient availability in soils is an essential way for plants to adapt to soil environments. Nitrogen can affect root development either as a result of changes in the external concentration, or through changes in the internal nutrient status of the plant. On one hand, low soil N stimulate root elongation. On the other hand, localized nitrate stimulate lat...

Plant grafting is an important technique for horticultural and silvicultural production. However, many rootstock plants suffer from undesirable lateral bud outgrowth, low grafting success rates or poor rooting. Here, we used a root-predominant gene promoter (SbUGT) to drive the expression of a tryptophan-2-monooxygenase gene (iaaM) from Agrobacterium tumefaciens to increase auxin levels in toba...