Τhe bidirectional relationship between cortical microtubule orientation and cell wall structure has been extensively studied in elongating cells. Nevertheless, the possible interplay between microtubules and cell wall elements in meristematic cells still remains elusive. Herein, the impact of cellulose synthesis inhibition and suppressed cell elongation on cortical microtubule orientation was a...

Recently, Ishikawa and Evans (1995) focused attention on the immediately postmitotic growth zone of plant roots and indicated its importance in root growth in response to interna1 and externa1 factors. This previously unrecognized region of the root, intercalated between the apical meristem and the zone of rapid cell elongation, was originally discovered as the result of a morphometric analysis...

We extend a model of ion and water transport through a root to describe transport along and through a root exhibiting a complexity of differentiation zones. Attention is focused on convective and diffusive transport, both radially and longitudinally, through different root tissue types (radial differentiation) and root developmental zones (longitudinal differentiation). Model transport paramete...

This study measured total osmolarity and concentrations of NH(4)(+), NO(3)(-), K(+), soluble carbohydrates, and organic acids in maize seminal roots as a function of distance from the apex, and NH(4)(+) and NO(3)(-) in xylem sap for plants receiving NH(4)(+) or NO(3)(-) as a sole N-source, NH(4)(+) plus NO(3)(-), or no nitrogen at all. The disparity between net deposition rates and net exogenou...

Pectin synthesis and modification are vital for plant development, although the underlying mechanisms are still not well understood. Here, we report the functional characterization of the OsTSD2 gene, which encodes a putative methyltransferase in rice. All three independent T-DNA insertion lines of OsTSD2 displayed dwarf phenotypes and serial alterations in different zones of the root. These al...

We report the redox status (profiles) for specific populations of cells that comprise the Arabidopsis root tip. For recently germinated, 3-5-day-old seedlings we show that the region of the root tip with the most reduced redox status includes the root cap initials, the quiescent center and the most distal portion of the proximal meristem, and coincides with (overlays) the region of the auxin ma...

Soil moisture status in the root zone is an important component of the water cycle at all spatial scales (e.g., point, field, catchment, watershed, and region). In this study, the spatio-temporal evolution of root zone soil moisture of the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed (WGEW) in Arizona was investigated during the Soil Moisture Experiment 2004 (SMEX04). Root zone soil moisture was estimat...

The aim of this work was to measure the danger zone in mandibular molars, relating to strip perforations that might affect the mesial root during canal instrumentation. One hundred mesial roots were sectioned 2mm below the furcation and the distal concavities were measured with a microscope from the border of the canals to the outer dentin of the root. The average thickness of the danger zone o...