Scientists Discover How Plant Roots ‘Rewire’ to Fight Drought

Scientists Discover How Plant Roots ‘Rewire’ to Fight Drought
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Researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) have made a significant discovery about how plant roots adapt to environmental stress, finding that they “rewire” themselves to optimize water and nutrient intake, Earth.com reported. The study, published in the journal Molecular Plant, sheds light on a mechanism that could be harnessed to create more resilient crops.

The research, led by scientists at UNIGE, revealed that as roots mature, they develop a one-way transport system. Using a model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, and fluorescent tracers, they observed that while young roots allow resources to flow in both directions, mature roots restrict this flow, funneling water and nutrients only inward towards the plant’s core. This developmental switch is a key strategy for efficient resource management.

In a surprising twist, the researchers identified a mutant plant, dubbed sesame, whose roots had an abnormally leaky transport system. Counterintuitively, these sesame plants recovered better from drought conditions than their normal counterparts. While the exact reason for this is still under investigation, the finding suggests that manipulating this root “rewiring” process could be a new avenue for developing crops that are more efficient at absorbing nutrients or better able to withstand water stress. This breakthrough could provide a valuable tool in adapting agriculture to the challenges of climate change.