title: The role of nutrient availability in regulating root architecture.
abstract: The ability of plants to respond appropriately to nutrient availability is of fundamental importance for their adaptation to the environment. Nutrients such as nitrate, phosphate, sulfate and iron act as signals that can be perceived. These signals trigger molecular mechanisms that modify cell division and cell differentiation processes within the root and have a profound impact on root system architecture. Important developmental processes, such as root-hair formation, primary root growth and lateral root formation, are particularly sensitive to changes in the internal and external concentration of nutrients. The responses of root architecture to nutrients can be modified by plant growth regulators, such as auxins, cytokinins and ethylene, suggesting that the nutritional control of root development may be mediated by changes in hormone synthesis, transport or sensitivity. Recent information points to the existence of nutrient-specific signal transduction pathways that interpret the external and internal concentrations of nutrients to modify root development. Progress in this field has led to the cloning of regulatory genes that play pivotal roles in nutrient-induced changes to root development.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ingeniería Genética de Plantas, Centro de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Unidad Irapuato, Apartado Postal 629, 36500 Irapuato, Guanajuato, México.
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: López-Bucio
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cruz-Ramírez
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Herrera-Estrella
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009566:Nitrates / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D010710:Phosphates / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D063245:Plant Development; D019441:Plant Epidermis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000494:pharmacology; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D010944:Plants / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013431:Sulfates / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D009566:Nitrates; D010710:Phosphates; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; D013431:Sulfates