2026/01/01 by Juan C. Baca Cabrera, Dylan Jones, Jan Vanderborght +5 · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Engineering · Environmental Science · #Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics #Plant nutrient uptake and metabolism #Soil and Unsaturated Flow
paper · doi:10.1093/jxb/erag177
openalex publication_date 2026/01/01 · openalex created_date 2026/04/17 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/12
Abstract Root hydraulic properties affect water uptake in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and are strongly influenced by root anatomy, yet how they vary along root axes and differ among cultivars remains underexplored. We investigated crown roots of six German winter wheat cultivars spanning one century of release, sampled from a field experiment. Roots were imaged at different positions along their axis using a high-throughput system (Rapid Anatomics Tool), and the resulting anatomical traits were coupled to the GRANAR–MECHA model to estimate radial and axial hydraulic conductance. Longitudinal anatomical gradients were pronounced: tissue dimensions, metaxylem number, and apoplastic barriers decreased from the base onwards, resulting in radial conductance increasing and axial conductance decreasing with distance from the base. Cultivar differences were also apparent: modern cultivars had smaller tissues and fewer metaxylem vessels, reducing both axial and radial conductance and lowering whole-root water uptake capacity (∼20–30%). By integrating field sampling with high-throughput image analysis and modeling, this study establishes an integrated phenotyping approach linking root anatomy to hydraulic function and uncovering anatomical traits relevant for water uptake. The results show that longitudinal gradients and cultivar-associated anatomical differences contribute to variation in hydraulic properties and persist along fully mature root segments.