Root responses to legume plants integrate information on nitrogen availability and neighbour identity

Sattler, J. D.; Bartelheimer, Maik

doi:10.1016/j.baae.2018.01.001

Cited by 10 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 34 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…T. repens and A. capillaris). This supports the finding from a field-based experiment by Sattler and Bartelheimer (2018), but contradicts the experimental finding by Weidlich et al (2018), who observed directional growth of maize roots towards a legume in a minirhizotron experiment. It is possible that the scale used in our observation was still too coarse to observe such effects, which, at the scale of centimetres (the more so in the heterogeneous soil environment), might have been overwhelmed by other effects (see also Zhang, Rong, & Pilbeam, 2007).…”

Section: Functional Traits and Root Community Structuresupporting

confidence: 72%

“…For example, interspecific aggregation may be found in legumenon-legume pairs, where non-legume species may seek nitrogen available in the vicinity of legume roots (Weidlich, Temperton, & Faget, 2018; but see Sattler & Bartelheimer, 2018). Similarly, roots show interspecific aggregation if there is a stable source of environmental heterogeneity (Cahill & Casper, 1999;Liu et al, 2017;Mommer, van Ruijven, Jansen, van de Steeg, & de Kroon, 2012).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Fine‐scale root community structure in the field: Species aggregations change with root density

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

1. Roots are capable of strong plastic responses to environmental signals, but the extent of such responses in the field is essentially unknown. Here, we aimed to identify interspecific root aggregations and segregations as indicators of plastic responses to the presence of other species. Furthermore, we asked whether aggregations change with heterogeneity in overall root density along soil depth and whether root communities show any relationship to species' functional traits. 2. We used quantitative real-Time PCR to estimate root quantities of nine grassland species in soil blocks at a centimetre scale. We combined these estimates with fine-scale recording of species' positions above-ground. We used deviations between measured root density and that expected from the relationship to aboveground species abundance to correct for different chances of individual species to meet due to the non-random distribution of their individuals. This approach allows us to identify whether species associations below-ground are due to plastic response of their roots. 3. We showed that while there were signals of both interspecific aggregation and segregation, prevalence of aggregation over segregation strongly increased with increasing soil depth. In shallow layers, where root density is high and its heterogeneity low, roots are likely to respond to a number of signals which produce both interspecific aggregation and segregation. In contrast, in deeper layers, where root density is low and its heterogeneity high, root distribution is likely to be driven primarily by foraging for resources, producing aggregations. Species composition of the root community did not show any relationship to functional traits (SLA, shoot life span, spreading distance and rooting depth) of the examined species. 4. Synthesis. The results imply that processes that determine interspecific root associations change at a scale of centimetres which is close to the scale of individual fine roots. They also imply that while root foraging might explain root co-occurrence under low root density, very different processes determine it when root density is high. Our findings also support the notion that roots, while extremely plastic, may not receive sufficient signals to elicit a response in the field if overall root density is high and homogeneous.

show abstract

Section: Functional Traits and Root Community Structuresupporting

confidence: 72%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Fine‐scale root community structure in the field: Species aggregations change with root density

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A great deal of debate has focused on elements of experimental design (reviewed by Chen et al 2012), rather than traits of species or aspects of the environment. Comparative studies have shown both that species differ in root growth responses to competitors, and that those responses are dependent on the identity of the neighbor (Semchenko et al 2007;Belter and Cahill 2015;Paya et al 2015;Sattler and Bartelheimer 2018). Furthermore, neighbor identity effects are not consistent among focal species (Semchenko et al 2007;Belter and Cahill 2015;Sattler and Bartelheimer 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A few studies have investigated plant responses to the two simultaneous cues of resource heterogeneity and neighbors, but no consistent patterns have emerged. Addition of soil nutrients has been observed to shift the response to neighbors from neutral to over-production (Sattler and Bartelheimer 2018), from over-production to neutral (McNickle et al 2016), from avoidance to neutral (Cahill et al 2010), or from avoidance to greater avoidance (Nan et al 2013). The interactive effects of resources and neighbors become even more complex when additional cues are introduced (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Root responses to neighbors depend on neighbor identity and resource distribution

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose: In a complex soil environment, competitive and environmental factors will interact with individual traits to in uence a plant's root growth patterns and ability to compete for resources. Here, we examine how root growth of a focal plant, Plantago lanceolata L., responds to resource heterogeneity and to presence of two neighbor species, Centaurea jacea L.and Poa pratensis L. Methods: A full factorial experiment tested the effects of nutrient heterogeneity, neighbors, and their interaction on root responses of Plantago. Roots in shared quadrants of a pot were harvested and quanti ed by qPCR for plants grown alone or with a neighbor, in patchy or even soil. The effects of experimental treatments on Plantago root mass distribution were tested with two-way ANOVA.Results: When soil resources were evenly distributed, Plantago individuals increased root allocation to soil shared with a Centaurea neighbor but not a Poa neighbor. When soil resources were patchy, Plantago responded more strongly to Poa than to Centuarea, and placed more roots in the high-resource patch.Conclusions: These results demonstrate that plants can respond differently to neighbors depending on species and that integrating multiple cues results in non-additive effects on root behavior.

show abstract

“…Some studies have failed to find evidence for kin recognition (Argyres & Schmitt 1992, Dudley & File 2007, Monzeglio & Stoll 2008, Milla et al 2009, Murphy & Dudley 2009, Masclaux et al 2010), suggesting that it is not consistently expressed or that it may be less important than other ecological interactions such as competition (Masclaux et al 2010). Studies have found kin response to be moderated by environmental factors such as plant density (Lepik et al 2012), nutrient availability (Sattler andBartelheimer 2018, Li et al 2018) and heavy metal concentration in the soil (Li et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of kin recognition on root traits of wheat germplasm over 100 years of breeding

Kiær

Weiner

Rasmussen

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A number of studies have documented differential growth of plant roots and shoots in response to different co-cultivated genotypes, implying the existence of kin recognition mechanisms mediated by root exudates. If confirmed, this has important implications for crop breeding. We present the first large-sale investigation of kin recognition in a crop germplasm collection comprising 30 North-European cultivars and landraces of spring wheat, spanning 100 years of breeding history. In a full diallel in vitro bioassay, we compared root growth of seedlings when growing in pure substrate, or in substrate previously occupied by a donor seedling from the same (KIN) or another (NONKIN) genotype. Seedlings growing in KIN or NONKIN substrate generally had longer but not more roots than seedlings growing in pure substrate. Responses were generally larger in longer roots, suggesting that root elongation was promoted throughout the growth period. Responses to KIN and NONKIN substrates were found to range from positive to negative, with root length responses to kin being increasingly positive with year of release. Seedlings growing in KIN substrate generally had shorter but not fewer roots than seedlings growing in NONKIN substrate. This kin recognition ranged from positive to negative across the specific donor-receiver combinations and did not change systematically with year of release of either genotype. Root traits in both KIN and NONKIN substrate were affected by both donor and receiver genotype, and these effects were generally larger than the effect of specific combinations. Genotypes showing higher levels of kin recognition also tended to invoke larger responses in other genotypes. Kin recognition was reduced in most cases by the addition of sodium orthovanadate, a chemical inhibitor, supporting the hypothesis that kin responses were mediated by changes in the chemical constitution of the substrate. The identified patterns of kin recognition across the germplasm collection were complex, suggesting a multigenic background and shared breeding history of the genotypes. We conclude that kin response represents a potential target for crop breeding which can improve root foraging and competitive interactions.

show abstract

Root responses to legume plants integrate information on nitrogen availability and neighbour identity

Cited by 10 publications

References 34 publications

Fine‐scale root community structure in the field: Species aggregations change with root density

Fine‐scale root community structure in the field: Species aggregations change with root density

Root responses to neighbors depend on neighbor identity and resource distribution

Effects of kin recognition on root traits of wheat germplasm over 100 years of breeding

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About