Gene Required for Root Hair Growth, Nitrate Foraging Found in Grasses
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Gene required for root hair growth, nitrate foraging found in grasses:
September 19, 2023
Gene required for root hair growth, nitrate foraging found in grasses
Scientists have found a plant gene that drives the growth of root hairs, the tiny structures that help plants find water and nutrients in the soil.
Identified by a team led by Washington State University researcher Karen Sanguinet, the gene, dubbed "BUZZ," causes faster-growing, denser webs of roots and may also determine how plants find and use nitrates, a prime source of nitrogen essential to plant growth. Nitrates are also used in fertilizers that can pollute the environment as runoff, and this genetic discovery could ultimately help plant scientists find ways to grow crops more sustainably.
"Nitrate runoff and nitrogen use efficiency are some of the preeminent issues facing agriculture," said Sanguinet, associate professor in WSU's Department of Crop and Soil Sciences. "If you can understand the genetic mechanisms that control nitrate uptake and signaling, as well as how plants can better use nitrate, it's advantageous for agriculture, soil, water, fertilizer application and the entire nitrogen cycle."
The study, published in the journal New Phytologist, found that the BUZZ gene adjusts root growth-both the rate and lateral root initiation-in response to the nitrate concentration in nearby soil.
"Expression of the BUZZ gene is turned up in response to nitrate, urea, and ammonia presumably so that roots can find nitrogen in the soil," Sanguinet said. "Loss of the gene shows a foraging root phenotype even when the nitrate supply is plentiful."
The gene is expressed at very low levels and had never been described before, which made finding it more challenging.
Journal Reference:
(1) (DOI: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.19079)
(2) (DOI: 10.1111/nph.19079)
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