Root system growth and function response to soil temperature in maize ( Zea mays L.)

Abstract

Abstract Crop adaptation to the mixture of environments that defines the target population of environments is the result from a balanced resource allocation between roots, shoots and reproductive organs. Root growth places a critical role in the determination of this balance. Root growth and function responses to temperature can determine the strength of roots as sinks but also influence the crop’s ability to uptake water and nutrients. Surprisingly, this behavior has not been studied in maize since the middle of the last century, and the genetic determinants are unknown. Low temperatures often recorded in deep soil layers limit root growth and soil exploration and may constitute a bottleneck towards increasing drought tolerance, nitrogen recovery, sequestration of carbon and productivity in maize. High throughput phenotyping (HTP) systems were developed to investigate these responses and to examine genetic variability therein across diverse maize germplasm. Here we show that there is: 1) genetic variation of root growth under low temperature and below 10°C, and 2) genotypic variation in water transport under low temperature. Using simulation, we demonstrate that the measured variation for both traits contribute to drought tolerance and explain important components of yield variation in the US corn-belt. The trait set examined herein and HTP platform developed for its characterization reveal a unique opportunity to remove a major bottleneck for crop improvement, and adaptation to climate change.

Plant phenotyping relevance

根の成長・水輸送という植物形質を測定するハイスループット表現型解析システムの開発と特性評価が中心であり、遺伝的変異の解析にも用いている。

Code and data availability

The paper describes maize root phenotyping (root growth imaging, root pressure chamber conductance, GWAS, simulation), but no public dataset, code, or model deposit is provided. The Data section states data are available only upon request at Corteva's discretion, so no public paper-specific asset qualifies.

No evidence-backed public reproduction asset is currently recorded.