A Centrifuge-Based Method for Identifying Novel Genetic Traits That Affect Root-Substrate Adhesion in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Bethany M Eldridge,Annabelle N Sellin,Tanniemola B Liverpool,Kevin M Smyth,Emily R Larson,Isaac V Chenchiah,Claire S Grierson,Laura Weldon

doi:10.3389/fpls.2021.602486

Bethany M Eldridge, Annabelle N Sellin + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.602486

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Abstract

The physical presence of roots and the compounds they release affect the cohesion between roots and their environment. However, the plant traits that are important for these interactions are unknown and most methods that quantify the contributions of these traits are time-intensive and require specialist equipment and complex substrates. Our lab developed an inexpensive, high-throughput phenotyping assay that quantifies root-substrate adhesion in Arabidopsis thaliana. We now report that this method has high sensitivity and versatility for identifying different types of traits affecting root-substrate adhesion including root hair morphology, vesicle trafficking pathways, and root exudate composition. We describe a practical protocol for conducting this assay and introduce its use in a forward genetic screen to identify novel genes affecting root-substrate interactions. This assay is a powerful tool for identifying and quantifying genetic contributions to cohesion between roots and their environment.

Highlights

Plants secrete compounds that help them adapt to their environment, sense and interact with other organisms and to improve water and nutrient uptake
We screened mutant lines with known root hair morphology defects to ask if the centrifuge assay could determine if root hair shape affects root-substrate adhesion
Results presented in this paper show that the centrifuge assay can quantify effects of root hair morphology on plantsubstrate adhesion

Summary

Introduction

Plants secrete compounds that help them adapt to their environment, sense and interact with other organisms and to improve water and nutrient uptake (reviewed in Bais et al, 2006; Sasse et al, 2018; Vives-Peris et al, 2020). Plant root morphology, including root architecture and the presence of root hairs, can alter root-soil interactions (Bailey et al, 2002; De Baets et al, 2007; Stokes et al, 2009; Burylo et al, 2012; Ghestem et al, 2014) This complexity has made it difficult to characterize the relevant plant physiology

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