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Tonicity
Tonicity describes the capacity of a cell to lose or gain water depending on the solute...

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Related Experiment Video

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A Strategy to Validate the Role of Callose-mediated Plasmodesmal Gating in the Tropic Response

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Published on: April 17, 2016

Root hydrotropism is controlled via a cortex-specific growth mechanism.

Daniela Dietrich^1,2, Lei Pang³, Akie Kobayashi³

¹Centre for Plant Integrative Biology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham LE12 5RD, UK.

|May 9, 2017

Summary

Plant roots use hydrotropism to find water, guided by abscisic acid (ABA) signaling. This study reveals specific molecular players and cell types involved in root hydrotropism, distinct from gravitropism.

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Area of Science:

Plant Biology
Molecular Plant Physiology
Developmental Biology

Background:

Plant roots exhibit tropisms, directional growth responses to environmental stimuli, to optimize resource acquisition.
Hydrotropism, the growth of roots towards water, is crucial for plant survival but its underlying molecular mechanisms are not fully understood.
Abscisic acid (ABA) is known to play a role in hydrotropism, yet the specific signaling pathways and cellular components remain elusive.

Purpose of the Study:

To elucidate the molecular and cellular basis of hydrotropism in plant roots.
To identify key signaling molecules and cell types involved in root hydrotropism.
To differentiate the mechanisms of hydrotropism from gravitropism.

Main Methods:

Laser ablation to remove root meristem and cap, assessing hydrotropism in remaining root tissues.
Targeted gene expression studies to investigate the roles of specific genes (SnRK2.2, MIZ1) in hydrotropism.
Inhibition of differential cell-length increases in specific root tissues to study their contribution to tropic responses.

Main Results:

Hydrotropism persists in roots even after the removal of the meristem and root cap.
The ABA signaling kinase SnRK2.2 and the hydrotropism-specific MIZ1 are essential for hydrotropism, acting in elongation zone cortical cells.
Hydrotropism, but not gravitropism, is impaired by preventing differential cell elongation in the cortex, highlighting distinct tissue-based mechanisms.

Conclusions:

Root hydrotropism and gravitropism are mediated by distinct tissue-specific mechanisms.
The elongation zone in roots plays a dual role in hydrotropism: sensing water potential gradients and mediating differential growth.
Specific molecular players, including SnRK2.2 and MIZ1, are crucial for hydrotropism in cortical cells of the elongation zone.