title: X-Ray Computed Tomography Reveals the Response of Root System Architecture to Soil Texture.
abstract: Root system architecture (RSA) impacts plant fitness and crop yield by facilitating efficient nutrient and water uptake from the soil. A better understanding of the effects of soil on RSA could improve crop productivity by matching roots to their soil environment. We used x-ray computed tomography to perform a detailed three-dimensional quantification of changes in rice (Oryza sativa) RSA in response to the physical properties of a granular substrate. We characterized the RSA of eight rice cultivars in five different growth substrates and determined that RSA is the result of interactions between genotype and growth environment. We identified cultivar-specific changes in RSA in response to changing growth substrate texture. The cultivar Azucena exhibited low RSA plasticity in all growth substrates, whereas cultivar Bala root depth was a function of soil hardness. Our imaging techniques provide a framework to study RSA in different growth environments, the results of which can be used to improve root traits with agronomic potential.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology (E.D.R., M.M., P.N.B.) and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (P.N.B.), Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708; andSchool of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (D.M., A.N., D.I.G.).
authors.forename: Eric D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology (E.D.R., M.M., P.N.B.) and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (P.N.B.), Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708; andSchool of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (D.M., A.N., D.I.G.).
authors.forename: Daria
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Monaenkova
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology (E.D.R., M.M., P.N.B.) and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (P.N.B.), Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708; andSchool of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (D.M., A.N., D.I.G.).
authors.forename: Medhavinee
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mijar
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology (E.D.R., M.M., P.N.B.) and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (P.N.B.), Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708; andSchool of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (D.M., A.N., D.I.G.).
authors.forename: Apoorva
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8231-0536
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nori
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology (E.D.R., M.M., P.N.B.) and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (P.N.B.), Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708; andSchool of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (D.M., A.N., D.I.G.).
authors.forename: Daniel I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Goldman
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology (E.D.R., M.M., P.N.B.) and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (P.N.B.), Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708; andSchool of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (D.M., A.N., D.I.G.) philip.benfey@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Philip N
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5302-758X
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Benfey
mesh_terms: D055864:Droughts; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D005838:Genotype; D012275:Oryza / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D012987:Soil