Excretion from Plant Roots

Plant Development A Long Way from Its Roots

Microbial products trigger amino acid exudation from plant roots.

Plants naturally cycle amino acids across root cell plasma membranes, and any net efflux is termed exudation. The dominant ecological view is that microorganisms and roots passively compete for amino acids in the soil solution, yet the innate capacity of roots to recover amino acids present in ecologically relevant concentrations is unknown. We find that, in the absence of culturable microorgan...

Combinatorially selected defense peptides protect plant roots from pathogen infection.

Agricultural productivity and sustainability are continually challenged by emerging and indigenous pathogens. Currently, many pathogens can be combatted only with biocides or environmentally dangerous fumigants. Here, we report a rapid and pathogen-specific strategy to reduce infection by organisms that target plant roots. Combinatorially selected defense peptides, previously shown to effect pr...

When do arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi protect plant roots from pathogens?

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are mainly thought to facilitate phosphorus uptake in plants, but they can also perform several other functions that are equally beneficial. Our recent study sheds light on the factors determining one such function, enhanced plant protection from root pathogens. Root infection by the fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum was determined by both plant susceptibility...

3D Reconstruction of Plant Roots from MRI Images

We present a novel method for deriving a structural model of a plant root system from 3D Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data of soil grown plants. The structural model allows calculation of physiologically relevant parameters. Roughly speaking, MRI images show local water content of the investigated sample. The small, local amounts of water in roots require a relatively high resolution, which...