title: Root nutrient foraging.
abstract: During a plant's lifecycle, the availability of nutrients in the soil is mostly heterogeneous in space and time. Plants are able to adapt to nutrient shortage or localized nutrient availability by altering their root system architecture to efficiently explore soil zones containing the limited nutrient. It has been shown that the deficiency of different nutrients induces root architectural and morphological changes that are, at least to some extent, nutrient specific. Here, we highlight what is known about the importance of individual root system components for nutrient acquisition and how developmental and physiological responses can be coupled to increase nutrient foraging by roots. In addition, we review prominent molecular mechanisms involved in altering the root system in response to local nutrient availability or to the plant's nutritional status.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Plant Nutrition, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Leibniz Institute for Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, 06466 Gatersleben, Germany.
authors.forename: Ricardo F H
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1006-3163
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Giehl
authors.affiliation: Molecular Plant Nutrition, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Leibniz Institute for Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, 06466 Gatersleben, Germany vonwiren@ipk-gatersleben.de.
authors.forename: Nicolaus
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4966-425X
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: von Wirén
mesh_terms: D018517:Plant Roots / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism*
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