Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1002/jpln.201900322
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) Root trait plasticity and plant nutrient acquisition in phosphorus limited soil
Author Kumar, A.; Shahbaz, M.; Koirala, M.; Blagodatskaya, E.; Seidel, S.J.; Kuzyakov, Y.; Pausch, J.
Source Titel Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science
Year 2019
Department BOOEK
Volume 182
Issue 6
Page From 945
Page To 952
Language englisch
Supplements https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1002%2Fjpln.201900322&file=jpln201900322-sup-0001-misc_information.pdf
Keywords arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization; nutrient acquisition; root hairs; root morphology; roothairless3 mutant; root traits
Abstract To overcome soil nutrient limitation, many plants have developed complex nutrient acquisition strategies including altering root morphology, root hair formation or colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). The interactions of these strategies and their plasticity are, however, affected by soil nutrient status throughout plant growth. Such plasticity is decisive for plant phosphorus (P) acquisition in P‐limited soils. We investigated the P acquisition strategies and their plasticity of two maize genotypes characterized by the presence or absence of root hairs. We hypothesized that in the absence of root hairs plant growth is facilitated by traits with complementary functions, e.g., by higher root mycorrhizal colonization. This dependence on complementary traits will decrease in P fertilized soils. At early growth stages, root hairs are of little benefit for nutrient uptake. Regardless of the presence or absence of root hairs, plants produced average root biomass of 0.14 g per plant and exhibited 23% root mycorrhizal colonization. At later growth stages of maize, contrasting mechanisms with functional complementarity explained similar plant biomass production under P limitation: the presence of root hairs versus higher root mycorrhizal colonization (67%) favored by increased fine root diameter in absence of root hairs. P fertilization decreased the dependence of plant on specific root traits for nutrient acquisition. Through root trait plasticity, plants can minimize trade‐offs for developing and maintaining functional traits, while increasing the benefit in terms of nutrient acquisition and plant growth. The present study highlights the plasticity of functional root traits for efficient nutrient acquisition strategies in agricultural systems with low nutrient availability.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=22260
Kumar, A., Shahbaz, M., Koirala, M., Blagodatskaya, E., Seidel, S.J., Kuzyakov, Y., Pausch, J. (2019):
Root trait plasticity and plant nutrient acquisition in phosphorus limited soil
J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci. 182 (6), 945 - 952 10.1002/jpln.201900322