title: New insights to lateral rooting: Differential responses to heterogeneous nitrogen availability among maize root types.
abstract: Historical domestication and the "Green revolution" have both contributed to the evolution of modern, high-performance crops. Together with increased irrigation and application of chemical fertilizers, these efforts have generated sufficient food for the growing global population. Root architecture, and in particular root branching, plays an important role in the acquisition of water and nutrients, plant performance, and crop yield. Better understanding of root growth and responses to the belowground environment could contribute to overcoming the challenges faced by agriculture today. Manipulating the abilities of crop root systems to explore and exploit the soil environment could enable plants to make the most of soil resources, increase stress tolerance and improve grain yields, while simultaneously reducing environmental degradation. In this article it is noted that the control of root branching, and the responses of root architecture to nitrate availability, differ between root types and between plant species. Since the control of root branching depends upon both plant species and root type, further work is urgently required to determine the appropriate genes to manipulate to improve resource acquisition by specific crops.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Plant Nutrition ; China Agricultural University ; Beijing , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: b Ecological Sciences ; The James Hutton Institute ; Invergowrie , UK.|c College of Science ; King Saud University ; Riyadh , Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Philip J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: a Department of Plant Nutrition ; China Agricultural University ; Beijing , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chunjian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000235:genetics; D000383:Agriculture; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D002523:Edible Grain; D004777:Environment; D005308:Fertilizers; D017343:Genes, Plant; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D007210:Indoleacetic Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D009566:Nitrates / Q000378:metabolism; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D010641:Phenotype; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000235:genetics; D003313:Zea mays / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers; D007210:Indoleacetic Acids; D009566:Nitrates; D012987:Soil; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: auxin; maize; nitrogen availability; pericycle; root branching