After the stress that drought generates in plants, that caused by low temperatures is one of the most unfavorable conditions for their growth, and also affects the geographical distribution of crops. For this reason, the study of certain root cells responsible for absorbing water and nutrients and interacting with soil microorganisms –called root hairs– is key to thinking about the development of plants “super adaptable” to adverse environmental conditionsespecially when the effects of climate change are already being strongly felt.
“We had identified that plants subjected to 10°C presented an exacerbated growth of the length of the root hairs similar to that produced by conditions of low levels of phosphate and nitrate, which drive them to find concentrations of these nutrients to allow plant development; then, we hypothesize that low temperature affects the availability and mobility of nutrients and water towards the root that promotes hair growth.”, told the CyTA-Leloir Agency the doctor in biology Jose Manuel Estevezhead of the Molecular Bases of Plant Development Laboratory of the Leloir Institute Foundation (FIL).
With his group, Estévez was able to determine the molecular mechanism by which the root hairs of plants become more extensive under conditions of low temperature and nutrient deficiency.. “This lays the foundations for the development of super-adaptable plants, with longer hairs that allow greater absorption of nutrients in unfavorable conditions, thus promoting the development and growth of the root and of the plant in general.”, assured the researcher. And he explained thatone of the peculiar traits of root hairs is that they can grow several hundred times their original size”.
the biologist Javier Martinez Pachecofrom the Estévez laboratory at FIL, is the first author of the work published in the magazine New Phytologist. The study was carried out with copies of Arabidopsis thaliana, a plant that shares biological mechanisms with the most important agricultural crops, such as corn, wheat and soybeans. And it involved laboratories from various countries including China, Chile, Germany, France and the Czech Republic, as well as other colleagues from Argentina. This is the fourth work that arises as a result of an international agreement signed in 2019 to strengthen scientific collaboration between Estévez’s group at the FIL and the Bases of Cellular Adaptation Laboratory led by Professor Feng Yu at the Faculty of Biological Sciences of the Hunan University, China.
promising breakthrough
The scientists subjected to various temperature treatments and low levels of nutrients to different genetically modified specimens of Arabidopsis thaliana. Through different studies (phenotyping, confocal microscopy, western blot and immunofluorescence) they were able to identify three proteins with an active role in this mechanism that allows the growth of root hair: the FERONIA membrane receptor, the TOR kinase complex and the GTPase ROP2 protein.
“These proteins have various previously described functions, but our research provides novel information on their interrelationship in the context of root hair growth and development under cold and nutrient-poor conditions.”, emphasized Estevez.
Although Estévez’s laboratory is dedicated to basic research, there is also the search for a practical application of their research that favors the commercial crop development. “The fact that a plant that is grown in the autumn or winter season has longer hairs can help a greater absorption of nutrients and water from the soil, favoring its development from early stages; and, by having a better anchorage, the root can reach a greater depth, allowing the extraction of nutrients from deeper layers of the soil”, concluded the researcher.
