2020 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
From nutrients to root shape: How nutrients alter root mechanics and shape for an efficient uptake
| Project/Area Number |
19K23661
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
バイヤー マルセル・パスカル 東京大学, 大学院農学生命科学研究科(農学部), 特任助教 (30850367)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2019-08-30 – 2021-03-31
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| Keywords | Plant / Mechanics / Nutrition |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
The central point of this project was to shed light on the influence of nutrients and their uptake on the mechanical behavior of roots. It it is known that the root growth adjusts to nutrients. However, how nutrients alter the mechanical properties of the root is not fully understood. During the last year we confirmed that a root response (bending) in Arabidopsis can only be observed under rotation (which leads to a drastic decrease in gravity sensing). It therefore seems rather different from the phenotype that was observed for Rice. With the help of RNA sequencing we were able to narrow down the targets responsible for the phenotype. Unfortunately it will take longer for these results to be published. The need of rotation for the phenotype emergence makes it rather difficult to use this phenotype for the determination of mechanical properties in the developed microdevice. To be able to use the microdevice for the intended determination of the Youngs modulus of the root, we switched to Boron nutrition. We were able to measure the influence of a nutrient (Boron) on the mechanical stiffness of the root. Furthermore, the effects of sucrose supply on the mechanical properties of roots is progressing. We were able to show a sucrose based alteration of the root diameter and the mechanical properties. These results were presented in international meetings. The analysis is still ongoing with the purpose of finding key regulatory genes. Taken together, substantial progress has been made in the analysis of mechanical property changes caused by nutrients and the metabolic state.
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| Remarks |
The major findings describes were so far only presented in international meetings. 1 article is in revision, more will follow later. The articles listed contain some additional information.
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