2024/10/03 by Hui Sheng, Harro J. Bouwmeester, Teun Munnik · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Plant Molecular Biology Research #Plant nutrient uptake and metabolism #Polysaccharides and Plant Cell Walls
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/nph.20152
openalex publication_date 2024/10/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
Summary Phosphate (P i ) plays a key role in plant growth and development. Hence, plants display a range of adaptations to acquire it, including changes in root system architecture (RSA). Whether P i triggers directional root growth is unknown. We investigated whether Arabidopsis roots sense P i and grow towards it, that is whether they exhibit phosphotropism. While roots did exhibit a clear P i ‐specific directional growth response, it was, however, always to the left, independent of the direction of the P i gradient. We discovered that increasing concentrations of KH 2 PO 4 , trigger a dose‐dependent skewing response, in both primary and lateral roots. This phenomenon is P i ‐specific – other nutrients do not trigger this – and involves the reorganisation of the microtubule cytoskeleton in epidermal cells of the root elongation zone. Higher P i levels promote left‐handed cell file rotation that results in right‐handed, clockwise, root growth and leftward skewing as a result of the helical movement of roots (circumnutation). Our results shed new light on the role of P i in root growth, and may provide novel insights for crop breeding to optimise RSA and P‐use efficiency.