Efficient foraging by plant roots relies on the ability to sense multiple physical and chemical cues in soil and to reorient growth accordingly (tropism). Root tropisms range from sensing gravity (gravitropism), light (phototropism), water (hydrotropism), touch (thigmotropism), and more. Electrotropism, also known as galvanotropism, is the phenomenon of aligning growth with external electric fields and currents. Although root electrotropism has been observed in a few species since the end of the 19th century, its molecular and physical mechanisms remain elusive, limiting its comparison with the more well-defined sensing pathways in plants. Here we provide a quantitative and molecular characterization of root electrotropism in the model system Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), showing that it does not depend on an asymmetric distribution of the plant hormone auxin, but instead requires the biosynthesis of a second hormone, cytokinin. We also show that the dose-response kinetics of the early steps of root electrotropism follows a power law analogous to the one observed in some physiological reactions in animals. Future studies involving more extensive molecular and quantitative characterization of root electrotropism would represent a step towards a better understanding of signal integration in plants and would also serve as an independent outgroup for comparative analysis of electroreception in animals and fungi.

In plants, shoot and root regeneration can be induced in the distinctive conditions of tissue culture (in vitro) but is also observed in intact individuals (in planta) recovering from tissue damage. Roots, for example, can regenerate their fully excised meristems in planta, even in mutants with impaired apical stem cell niches. Unfortunately, to date a comprehensive understanding of regeneration in plants is still missing. Here, we provide evidence that an imposed electric field can perturb apical root regeneration in Arabidopsis. Crucially, we explored both spatial and temporal competences of the stump to respond to electrical stimulation, by varying respectively the position of the cut and the time interval between excision and stimulation. Our data indicate that a brief pulse of an electric field parallel to the root is sufficient to increase by up to two‐fold the probability of its regeneration, and to perturb the local distribution of the hormone auxin, as well as cell division regulation. Remarkably, the orientation of the root towards the anode or the cathode is shown to play a role.

An efficient foraging strategy for plant roots relies on the ability to sense multiple physical and chemical cues in soil and to reorient growth accordingly (tropism). Root tropisms range from sensing gravity (gravitropism), light (phototropism), water (hydrotropism), touch (thigmotropism) and more. Electrotropism, also known as galvanotropism, is the phenomenon of aligning growth with external electric fields and currents. Although observed in a few species since the end of the 19th century, the molecular and physical mechanism of root electrotropism remains elusive, limiting the comparison to more defined sensing pathways in plants. Here we provide a first quantitative and molecular characterisation of root electrotropism in the model system Arabidopsis thaliana, showing that it does not depend on an asymmetric distribution of the plant hormone auxin, but that instead it requires the biosynthesis of a second hormone, cytokinin. We also show that the dose-response kinetics of root electrotropism follows a power law analogous to the one observed in common animal physiological reactions, suggesting universal properties. A full molecular and quantitative characterisation of root electrotropism would represent a step forward towards a better understanding of signal integration in plants, and an independent outgroup for comparative analysis of electroreception in animals and fungi.

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