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Updated: Sep 18, 2025

Lateral Root Inducible System in Arabidopsis and Maize
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Bidirectional electrotropism of wheat root.

Zhenhua Shi1, Lingmin Wang1, Yingrong Zhang1

  • 1College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, 15 Shang Xia Dian Road, Cang Shan District, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350002, China.

The Plant Journal : for Cell and Molecular Biology
|June 26, 2025
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Wheat roots exhibit bidirectional electrotropism, growing towards electron donors or acceptors based on current. This unique plant behavior enhances growth rate and is linked to energy metabolism, offering insights into life's origins.

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Area of Science:

  • Plant Biology
  • Biophysics
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • All cellular organisms utilize electron transport chains and require environmental electron donors and acceptors.
  • This suggests an innate tropism towards these essential molecules in all life forms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the hypothesis of innate bidirectional electrotropism in wheat.
  • To explore the relationship between electrotropism, plant growth, and metabolic pathways.

Main Methods:

  • Wheat seedlings were cultured under varying voltage and current conditions.
  • Root growth direction and rate were measured.
  • Metabolomic analysis (LC-MS/MS) was performed.
  • Gene expression, enzyme activity, ATP levels, and malonic acid inhibition were assessed.

Main Results:

  • Wheat roots demonstrated bidirectional electrotropism, with direction dependent on current.
  • Root growth rate increased despite opposite directional responses.
  • Metabolites related to energy and secondary metabolism were identified.
  • Electrotropism correlated with glycolysis, TCA cycle enzymes, antioxidant activity, ATP levels, and malonic acid inhibition.

Conclusions:

  • This study provides the first evidence of bidirectional electrotropism in a living organism (wheat).
  • The behavior is linked to fundamental energy metabolism processes.
  • Bidirectional electrotropism may represent an ancestral trait crucial for the origin and evolution of life.