A sterile hydroponic system for characterising root exudates from specific root types and whole-root systems of large crop plants

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorKawasaki, A.
dc.contributor.authorOkada, S.
dc.contributor.authorZhang, C.
dc.contributor.authorDelhaize, E.
dc.contributor.authorMathesius, U.
dc.contributor.authorRichardson, A.
dc.contributor.authorWatt, M.
dc.contributor.authorGilliham, M.
dc.contributor.authorRyan, P.
dc.date.issued2018
dc.description.abstractBackground:Plant roots release a variety of organic compounds into the soil which alter the physical, chemical and biological properties of the rhizosphere. Root exudates are technically challenging to measure in soil because roots are difficult to access and exudates can be bound by minerals or consumed by microorganisms. Exudates are easier to measure with hydroponically-grown plants but, even here, simple compounds such as sugars and organic acids can be rapidly assimilated by microorganisms. Sterile hydroponic systems avoid this shortcoming but it is very difficult to maintain sterility for long periods especially for larger crop species. As a consequence, studies often use small model species such as Arabidopsis to measure exudates or use seedlings of crop plants which only have immature roots systems. Results:We developed a simple hydroponic system for cultivating large crop plants in sterile conditions for more than 30 days. Using this system wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) plants were grown in sterile conditions for 30 days by which time they had reached the six-leaf stage and developed mature root systems with seminal, nodal and lateral roots. To demonstrate the utility of this system we characterized the aluminium-activated exudation of malate from the major types of wheat roots for the first time. We found that all root types measured released malate but the amounts were two-fold greater from the seminal and nodal axile roots compared with the lateral roots. Additionally, we showed that this sterile growth system could be used to collect exudates from intact whole root systems of barley. Conclusions:We developed a simple hydroponic system that enables cereal plants to be grown in sterile conditions for longer periods than previously recorded. Using this system we measured, for the first time, the aluminium-activated efflux of malate from the major types of wheat roots. We showed the system can also be used for collecting exudates from intact root systems of 30-day-old barley plants. This hydroponic system can be modified for various purposes. Importantly it enables the study of exudates from crop species with mature root systems.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityAkitomo Kawasaki, Shoko Okada, Chunyan Zhang, Emmanuel Delhaize, Ulrike Mathesius, Alan E. Richardson, Michelle Watt, Matthew Gilliham and Peter R. Ryan
dc.identifier.citationPlant Methods, 2018; 14(1):114-1-114-13
dc.identifier.doi10.1186/s13007-018-0380-x
dc.identifier.issn1746-4811
dc.identifier.issn1746-4811
dc.identifier.orcidGilliham, M. [0000-0003-0666-3078]
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/119025
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherBMC
dc.rights© The Author(s) 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creat iveco mmons .org/licen ses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creat iveco mmons .org/ publi cdoma in/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1186/s13007-018-0380-x
dc.subjectAluminium-tolerance
dc.subjectBarley
dc.subjectHydroponic
dc.subjectMalate
dc.subjectOrganic anion
dc.subjectRoot exudates
dc.subjectSterile system
dc.subjectTaALMT1
dc.subjectWheat
dc.titleA sterile hydroponic system for characterising root exudates from specific root types and whole-root systems of large crop plants
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
hdl_119025.pdf
Size:
1.19 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Published version
Download

Collections

Agriculture, Food and Wine publications