Characterization, costs, cues and future perspectives of phenotypic plasticity

Abstract

Background Plastic responses of plants to the environment are ubiquitous. Phenotypic plasticity occurs in many forms and at many biological scales, and its adaptive value depends on the specific environment and interactions with other plant traits and organisms. Even though plasticity is the norm rather than the exception, its complex nature has been a challenge in characterizing the expression of plasticity, its adaptive value for fitness, and the environmental cues that regulate its expression. Scope This review discusses the characterization and costs of plasticity and approaches, considerations, and promising research directions in studying plasticity. Phenotypic plasticity is genetically controlled and heritable; however, little is known about how organisms perceive, interpret, and respond to environmental cues and the genes and pathways associated with plasticity. Not every genotype is plastic for every trait, and plasticity is not infinite, suggesting trade-offs, costs, and limits to express plasticity. The timing, specificity, and duration of plasticity are critical to their adaptive value for plant fitness. Conclusions There are many research opportunities to advance our understanding of plant phenotypic plasticity. New methodology and technological breakthroughs enable the study of phenotypic responses across biological scales and in multiple environments. Understanding mechanisms of plasticity and how the expression of specific phenotypes influences fitness in many environmental ranges would benefit many areas of plant science ranging from basic research to applied breeding for crop improvement.

A temporal atlas and response to nitrate availability of 3D root system architecture in diverse pennycress (Thlaspi arvenseL.) accessions

“…Harnessing plasticity of yield impacting traits is important for developing generalist genotypes that produce well matched phenotypes to the environment or specialist genotypes that are stable in a trait of interest. Generalist genotypes will outperform specialist genotypes in variable environments and specialist genotypes outperform in more stable environments (Wuest, Peter, and Niklaus 2021; Schneider 2022). Measurement of nitrate uptake performance with isotopes and extending the study to the full lifecycle would provide insight into how these root responses affect plant uptake performance and yield traits.…”

Transcription factor bHLH121 regulates root cortical aerenchyma formation in maize

“…An array of edaphic stress factors, including hypoxia and suboptimal availability of water, phosphorus, nitrogen, and sulfur, all promote RCA formation ( 24 – 28 , 42 , 43 ). Differences between growth environments, the timing and severity of edaphic stress, and heterogenous soil nutrient and water distribution in the field may contribute to the large variation in RCA observed within a single genotype ( 44 ). This inconsistent phenotype may also be due to the ZmbHLH121 -Mu insertion line’s truncated protein retaining a partial function, a functional redundancy within the bHLH family, or an environmental specificity of gene expression.…”

Functional implications of multiseriate cortical sclerenchyma for soil resource capture and crop improvement

“…Understanding the fitness landscape is required to understand the utility of MCS in specific environments, management scenarios and potential interactions with other plant traits. The influence of MCS on plant growth and health is multifaceted over space and time and we must embrace this complexity to better define the fitness optima for specific phenotypes ( Lynch et al 2021b ; Schneider et al 2021; Schneider 2022 ). The dearth of previous research on the functional utility of MCS and other anatomical traits combined with new advances in root phenotyping highlights opportunities to study the function and structure of root anatomical traits and offers opportunities for diverse perspectives on these issues.…”