[Bio-information-theory] The Emerging Story Of Plant Roots

[biospace]

An international group of European and US scientists led by the Centre
for Plant Integrative Biology at The University of Nottingham have
uncovered a fascinating new insight into the unseen side of plant
biology - the root.
Although less visible than shoots, leaves and flowers, plant roots are
critical to our lives. They provide the crops we eat with water,
nutrients, a firm anchor and a place to store food.

Roots are complex branching organs and show a wide variation in the
way they grow through the soil to exploit the available resources.

The way that new lateral roots are formed and grow is key to this
process. Lateral roots originate deep within the parent root and must
emerge through intervening layers of tissues before entering the soil.
Despite its importance to the integrity and architecture of the root
system, little is known about the regulation of lateral root
emergence.

This question has fascinated, yet frustrated, scientists since the
nineteenth century.

A paper appearing in Nature Cell Biology reveals for the very first
time how lateral root emergence is achieved. It reports that new
lateral roots reprogramme the cells that overlay them, causing them to
separate and enabling the new root to emerge. In short, the scientists
have discovered how new roots open the door to the world outside.
Tonny
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