Hydro-Signaling: Scientists Discover Plant Roots Change Shape to Increase Their Uptake of Water

Roots are an essential part of the plant since it serves as a means to absorb and nutrients, as well as anchor it to the ground. For years, botanists and other scientists have looked into plants not only to further understand them but also to extract potential findings that are applicable to real-world challenges, including damaged crops due to climate change and global warming.

Now, a new study led by researchers from the United Kingdom has found that plant roots are capable of adapting to its soil environment when confronted by limited water availability. This is done when the roots change their shape to increase their uptake of water to survive, providing potential theoretical and practical takeaways in the field of crop production.

Adaptive Plant Roots

(Photo : Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

According to the study published in the journal Science on Thursday, November 17, plant roots are most effective in parts of soil that contain the water the plant needs. This is the case since water is not always uniformly distributed throughout the soil, as well as roots since lateral root formation is suppressed due to xerobranching response.

In the new paper, researchers from the University of Nottingham in England have determined that plant roots show certain properties like plasticity in their branching patterns to forage efficiently for the scattered distribution of resources like soil water. Specifically, the researchers discovered a new water sensing mechanism called hydro-signaling.

Also Read: Tree Roots May Have Cause Mass Extinctions in the Ocean

Hydro-Signaling

The University of Nottingham research team revealed that hydro-signaling shows how hormone movement is linked with water fluxes. In addition, the research team has discovered that plant roots pause branching when they lose contact with any presence of water and only resume branching when they reconnect with moisture to ensure survival even in driest conditions, Phys.org reports.

To arrive at their conclusion, the UK researchers used X-ray micro-CTT imaging to unravel that roots alter their shape as a response to the availability of external moisture. This is made possible when roots link water movement with plant hormone signals.

Insights and data found from the study sheds light on the possibility of altering plant roots amid crucial moments like limiter water availability. These findings could also help scientists in the future to create real-world approaches on increasing plant root water absorption to boos crop yield.

Plant Root System

According to Furman University, the plant root system provides the leaves and stems with water supply and dissolved minerals and this is accomplished when the roots grow in new regions of the soil. The growth and metabolism of plant roots are supported by the natural process of photosynthesis that occurs in the leaves.

For years, scientists have acknowledged the importance of plant roots and their reported interaction with their surrounding soil environment, particularly when it comes to increasing the quantity and quality of crop yield.

In addition to the University of Nottingham study, an ongoing research paper made available in the online database Frontiers in Plant Science suggests that further study of crop roots systems is significant to produce more resilient plants.