title: Root-root interactions: extending our perspective to be more inclusive of the range of theories in ecology and agriculture using in-vivo analyses.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is a large body of literature on competitive interactions among plants, but many studies have only focused on above-ground interactions and little is known about root-root dynamics between interacting plants. The perspective on possible mechanisms that explain the outcome of root-root interactions has recently been extended to include non-resource-driven mechanisms (as well as resource-driven mechanisms) of root competition and positive interactions such as facilitation. These approaches have often suffered from being static, partly due to the lack of appropriate methodologies for in-situ non-destructive root characterization.
  
  
  METHODS
  Recent studies show that interactive effects of plant neighbourhood interactions follow non-linear and non-additive paths that are hard to explain. Common outcomes such as accumulation of roots mainly in the topsoil cannot be explained solely by competition theory but require a more inclusive theoretical, as well as an improved methodological framework. This will include the question of whether we can apply the same conceptual framework to crop versus natural species.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The development of non-invasive methods to dynamically study root-root interactions in vivo will provide the necessary tools to study a more inclusive conceptual framework for root-root interactions. By following the dynamics of root-root interactions through time in a whole range of scenarios and systems, using a wide variety of non-invasive methods, (such as fluorescent protein which now allows us to separately identify the roots of several individuals within soil), we will be much better equipped to answer some of the key questions in root physiology, ecology and agronomy.
authors: Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-2: Plant Sciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52428 Jülich, Germany. m.faget@fz-juelich.de
authors: Marc
authors: M
authors: Faget
authors: Kerstin A
authors: KA
authors: Nagel
authors: Achim
authors: A
authors: Walter
authors: Juan M
authors: JM
authors: Herrera
authors: Siegfried
authors: S
authors: Jahnke
authors: Ulrich
authors: U
authors: Schurr
authors: Vicky M
authors: VM
authors: Temperton
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D004463:Ecology; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D012987:Soil; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D012987:Soil
keywords: Root; competition; facilitation; green fluorescent protein; interaction; interspecific; intraspecific; nuclear magnetic resonance; positron emission tomography; red fluorescent protein; resource; rhizotrons
references: Ecology. 2010 Nov;91(11):3252-60
references: 21141186
references: Ann Bot. 2012 Jul;110(2):521-34
references: 22523423
references: Oecologia. 2007 Mar;151(2):190-205
references: 17048010
references: New Phytol. 2012 Jan;193(1):30-50
references: 22085245
references: Science. 2001 Oct 26;294(5543):843-5
references: 11679667
references: New Phytol. 2003 Feb;157(2):303-314
references: 33873633
references: J Environ Qual. 2010 Apr 13;39(3):845-54
references: 20400580
references: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Nov 7;103(45):16812-7
references: 17068126
references: J Exp Bot. 2012 Apr;63(7):2503-11
references: 22271595
references: Science. 2007 Dec 7;318(5856):1562-3
references: 18063777
references: Plant Physiol. 2010 Mar;152(3):1148-57
references: 20107024
references: Funct Plant Biol. 2011 Dec;38(12):968-983
references: 32480955
references: Funct Plant Biol. 2009 Nov;36(11):922-929
references: 32688703
references: Ecol Lett. 2009 Jun;12(6):502-6
references: 19392712
references: Ecology. 2009 Dec;90(12):3290-302
references: 20120799
references: Funct Plant Biol. 2009 Nov;36(11):930-937
references: 32688704
references: Ecology. 2010 Oct;91(10):3027-36
references: 21058562
references: Science. 2010 Jun 25;328(5986):1657
references: 20576883
references: New Phytol. 1994 Aug;127(4):635-674
references: 33874383
references: Theor Appl Genet. 2009 Jul;119(2):293-303
references: 19407984
references: Ann Bot. 2011 Sep;108(3):407-18
references: 21813565
references: Annu Rev Plant Biol. 2009;60:279-304
references: 19575584
references: Ecology. 2009 Jun;90(6):1520-30
references: 19569367
references: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Jul 6;101(27):10101-6
references: 15220472
references: PLoS One. 2012;7(1):e29759
references: 22272246
references: Plant Cell Environ. 2006 Mar;29(3):340-52
references: 17080590
references: Commun Integr Biol. 2010 Jan;3(1):28-35
references: 20539778
references: Plant Physiol. 2002 Nov;130(3):1181-9
references: 12427985
references: Plant Cell Environ. 2012 May;35(5):884-92
references: 22070728
references: Plant J. 2009 Aug;59(4):634-44
references: 19392708
references: Funct Plant Biol. 2012 Nov;39(11):891-904
references: 32480839
references: Ann Bot. 2013 Jul;112(2):277-90
references: 23235697
references: Funct Plant Biol. 2011 Jun;38(5):347-354
references: 32480891
references: J Exp Bot. 2010;61(2):311-3
references: 20051353
references: Science. 1990 Aug 31;249(4972):1054
references: 17789615