Department of Plant and Soil Sciences and the Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19711, United States.
Department of Biochemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, United States.
Curr Opin Plant Biol. 2021 Feb;59:101985. doi: 10.1016/j.pbi.2020.101985. Epub 2021 Jan 5.
Optimization of crop production requires root systems to function in water uptake, nutrient use, and anchorage. In maize, two types of nodal roots-subterranean crown and aerial brace roots function in anchorage and water uptake and preferentially express multiple water and nutrient transporters. Brace root development shares genetic control with juvenile-to-adult phase change and flowering time. We present a comprehensive list of the genes known to alter brace roots and explore these as candidates for QTL studies in maize and sorghum. Brace root development and function may be conserved in other members of Poaceae, however research is limited. This work highlights the critical knowledge gap of aerial nodal root development and function and suggests new focus areas for breeding resilient crops.
优化作物生产需要根系在吸水、养分利用和固定方面发挥作用。在玉米中，两种类型的节根——地下冠根和地上支根在固定和吸水方面起作用，并优先表达多种水和养分转运蛋白。支根的发育与幼年期到成年期的相变和开花时间的遗传控制有关。我们列出了已知能改变支根的基因的综合清单，并将这些基因作为玉米和高粱 QTL 研究的候选基因进行探讨。支根的发育和功能可能在禾本科的其他成员中保守，但研究有限。这项工作突出了空中节根发育和功能的关键知识空白，并为培育有弹性的作物提出了新的重点领域。
