Ruiz Rosquete Michel, Gonzalez Juan, Wertz Kristen, Gonzalez Natalie, Baez Melissa, Wang Lin, Zhang Ling, Patil Suyash, Funaro Lucas, Busch Wolfgang
Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California, 92037, USA.
Plant J. 2025 Jan;121(1):e17177. doi: 10.1111/tpj.17177. Epub 2024 Dec 8.
Root depth is a major determinant of plant performance during drought and a key trait for strategies to improve soil carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change. While the model Arabidopsis thaliana offers numerous advantages for studies of root system architecture and root depth, its small and fragile roots severely limit the use of the methods and techniques currently available for such studies in soils. To overcome this, we have developed ClearDepth, a conceptually simple, non-destructive, sensitive, and low-cost method to estimate the root depth of Arabidopsis in relatively small pots that are amenable to mid- and large-scale studies. In our method, the root system develops naturally inside of the soil, without considerable space constraints. The ClearDepth parameter wall root shallowness (WRS) quantifies the shallowness of the root system by measuring the depth of roots that reach the transparent walls of clear pots. We show that WRS is a robust and sensitive parameter that distinguishes deep root systems from shallower ones while also capturing relatively smaller differences in root depth caused by the influence of an environmental factor. In addition, we leveraged ClearDepth to study the relation between lateral root angles measured in non-soil systems and root depth in soil. We found that Arabidopsis genotypes characterized by steep lateral roots in transparent growth media produce deeper root systems in the ClearDepth pots. Finally, we show that ClearDepth can also be used to study root depth in crop species like rice.
根深度是干旱期间植物生长表现的主要决定因素，也是提高土壤碳固存以缓解气候变化策略的关键性状。虽然模式植物拟南芥在根系结构和根深度研究方面具有诸多优势，但其细小脆弱的根系严重限制了目前用于此类土壤研究的方法和技术的应用。为克服这一问题，我们开发了ClearDepth，这是一种概念简单、非破坏性、灵敏且低成本的方法，用于在适合中大规模研究的相对较小花盆中估算拟南芥的根深度。在我们的方法中，根系在土壤内部自然生长，没有显著的空间限制。ClearDepth参数壁根浅度（WRS）通过测量到达透明花盆透明壁的根的深度来量化根系的浅度。我们表明，WRS是一个稳健且灵敏的参数，能区分深根系和浅根系，同时还能捕捉到环境因素影响导致的根深度相对较小的差异。此外，我们利用ClearDepth研究了在非土壤系统中测量的侧根角度与土壤中根深度之间的关系。我们发现，在透明生长介质中侧根较陡的拟南芥基因型在ClearDepth花盆中产生更深的根系。最后，我们表明ClearDepth也可用于研究水稻等作物物种的根深度。
