Abstract
Abstract To overcome soil nutrient limitation, many plants have developed complex nutrient acquisition strategies including altering root morphology, root hair formation or colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). The interactions of these strategies and their plasticity are, however, affected by soil nutrient status throughout plant growth. Such plasticity is decisive for plant phosphorus (P) acquisition in P‐limited soils. We investigated the P acquisition strategies and their plasticity of two maize genotypes characterized by the presence or absence of root hairs. We hypothesized that in the absence of root hairs plant growth is facilitated by traits with complementary functions, e.g ., by higher root mycorrhizal colonization. This dependence on complementary traits will decrease in P fertilized soils. At early growth stages, root hairs are of little benefit for nutrient uptake. Regardless of the presence or absence of root hairs, plants produced average root biomass of 0.14 g per plant and exhibited 23% root mycorrhizal colonization. At later growth stages of maize, contrasting mechanisms with functional complementarity explained similar plant biomass production under P limitation: the presence of root hairs versus higher root mycorrhizal colonization (67%) favored by increased fine root diameter in absence of root hairs. P fertilization decreased the dependence of plant on specific root traits for nutrient acquisition. Through root trait plasticity, plants can minimize trade‐offs for developing and maintaining functional traits, while increasing the benefit in terms of nutrient acquisition and plant growth. The present study highlights the plasticity of functional root traits for efficient nutrient acquisition strategies in agricultural systems with low nutrient availability.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Both maize genotypes averaged 0.14 g root biomass at early growth.
Zea maysOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Root trait plasticity and plant nutrient acquisition in phosphorus limited soil”
e0“Regardless of the presence or absence of root hairs, plants produced average root biomass of 0.14 g per plant and exhibited 23% root mycorrhizal colonization”
e1“maize genotypes characterized by the presence or absence of root hairs”
Claim · model-written summary
Both maize genotypes had 23% root mycorrhizal colonization early.
- Interactor
- arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)e2symbiont
- Outcome
- root mycorrhizal colonizatione0
- Value
- 23%e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Regardless of the presence or absence of root hairs, plants produced average root biomass of 0.14 g per plant and exhibited 23% root mycorrhizal colonization”
e1“maize genotypes characterized by the presence or absence of root hairs”
e2“colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)”
Claim · model-written summary
Root hairs gave little nutrient-uptake benefit early.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“At early growth stages, root hairs are of little benefit for nutrient uptake”
e1“maize genotypes characterized by the presence or absence of root hairs”
Claim · model-written summary
In later P-limited growth, root hairs and mycorrhizal colonization complemented one another to yield similar biomass.
- Organ / stage
- root hairse0
- Interactor
- arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)e2symbiont
- Outcome
- similar plant biomass productione0
- Qualifier
- functional complementaritye0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“At later growth stages of maize, contrasting mechanisms with functional complementarity explained similar plant biomass production under P limitation: the presence of root hairs versus higher root mycorrhizal colonization (67%) favored by increased fine root diameter in absence of root hairs”
e1“maize genotypes characterized by the presence or absence of root hairs”
e2“colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)”
Claim · model-written summary
Without root hairs, later root mycorrhizal colonization reached 67%.
- Organ / stage
- root hairse0
- Interactor
- arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)e2symbiont
- Outcome
- root mycorrhizal colonizatione0
- Direction
- highere0
- Value
- 67%e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“higher root mycorrhizal colonization (67%) favored by increased fine root diameter in absence of root hairs”
e1“maize genotypes characterized by the presence or absence of root hairs”
e2“colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)”
Claim · model-written summary
Increased fine-root diameter favored colonization without root hairs.
- Organ / stage
- fine root diametere0
- Interactor
- arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)e2symbiont
- Outcome
- root mycorrhizal colonizatione0
- Qualifier
- absence of root hairse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“higher root mycorrhizal colonization (67%) favored by increased fine root diameter in absence of root hairs”
e1“maize genotypes characterized by the presence or absence of root hairs”
e2“colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)”
Claim · model-written summary
P fertilization decreased dependence on specific root traits.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“P fertilization decreased the dependence of plant on specific root traits for nutrient acquisition”
e1“maize genotypes characterized by the presence or absence of root hairs”
Claim · model-written summary
Root-trait plasticity can minimize trait tradeoffs and increase nutrient acquisition and growth.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Through root trait plasticity, plants can minimize trade‐offs for developing and maintaining functional traits, while increasing the benefit in terms of nutrient acquisition and plant growth”
e1“maize genotypes characterized by the presence or absence of root hairs”
The same questions in other papers
fertilization · growth · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
1,195 papers in the same direction as this paper · 149 in the opposite direction · 20 reporting no difference from an alternative
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