(Press-News.org) We often ignore what we cannot see, and yet organisms below the soil's surface play a vital role in plant functions and ecosystem well-being. These microbes can influence a plant's genetic structure, its health, and its interactions with other plants. A new series of articles in a Special Section in the American Journal of Botany on Rhizosphere Interactions: The Root Microbiome explores how root microbiomes influence plants across multiple scales—from cellular, bacterial, and whole plant levels to community and ecosystem levels.
Plants are teeming with microbial organisms; not only are they in plant cells, but they are also found in between the cells (intercellular spaces) and in a small layer of soil surrounding plant roots. This area of soil, the rhizosphere, is an especially important zone of activity as it contains microbes that are intricately involved in the molecular, genetic, and ecological components of a plant, and it also influences plant community composition and soil health. The importance of this "unseen majority" led Marnie Rout (University of North Texas Health Science Center) and Darlene Southworth (Southern Oregon University) to gather together a series of works highlighting some of the significant advances that have been made in the last decade in understanding the integrative and far-reaching impacts plant root microbiomes have not only on the organisms themselves, but globally as well.
"Until recently," Rout commented, "the microbiome had been easy to ignore in plant science because soil was considered a 'black box' for so long. But microbial research approaches and molecular techniques are illuminating this unknown—essentially, shining light on the microbiome."
By bringing together works by a diverse set of authors in this special section, Rout and Southworth's intentions are to illustrate the wide spectrum of impacts that microbiomes have on plant performance, and they emphasize that these interactions transcend several scales, from genes to ecosystems.
"Microbiomes play a significant role in the health of their hosts, and microbiome community composition can inform us about the spectrum of healthy-to-diseased host state," said Rout.
Indeed, the papers in this section demonstrate that the microbiome is metabolically diverse and communicates through the rhizosphere, which enables the microbiome to serve as a genomic reservoir for plants and other microbes. The papers also highlight the complex communication exchange that occurs between plants and their microbiomes.
For example, a paper in the special section by Gilberto Curlango-Rivera and associates found that the cell layer that is sloughed off by the roots of certain cotton cultivars and released into the rhizosphere may function as a defense mechanism, serving as a layer of immunity to the plant, similar to that of white blood cells in animals.
"Understanding how the microbiome can regulate plant performance could have enormous implications for many of the world's most pressing problems, such as utilizing marginal lands and fragile ecosystems to meet the food demands of a growing global population, minimizing losses of land and biodiversity due to plant invasions, or mitigating impacts of climate change on plant communities," states Rout.
For example, another paper in this special section, by Drora Kaplan and associates suggests that harvesting growth-promoting bacteria from plants found in harsh or dry climates, such as deserts, could help with crop production in currently stressed regions or in areas likely to be affected by global climate changes.
Rout and Southworth emphasize in the introduction that in order to better understand the intricate and complex impacts microbes have on many levels, from molecular to global, it is critical to understand that the plant microbiome is an integrated genome of the plant, and that it has profound influences on plant genetics, function, ecology, and communities. Interactions between plants and their microbial communities are dynamic—plants can manipulate the microbiome to their advantage (such as defense), and microbiomes can influence which plants survive in certain habitats (such as facilitating invasive species).
"It is my goal for readers to recognize that the plant does not stop at the roots," summarizes Rout. "I think the sustainability of microbes as residents on the planet should inspire everyone to reach a deeper understanding of microbiome influence on the part of the world that we can readily perceive."
INFORMATION:
Marnie E. Rout and Darlene Southworth. 2013. The root microbiome influences scales from molecules to ecosystems: The unseen majority. American Journal of Botany 100(9): 1689-1691. DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1300291
The full article in the link mentioned is available for no charge for 30 days following the date of this summary at http://www.amjbot.org/content/100/9/1689.full.pdf+html. After this date, reporters may contact Richard Hund at ajb@botany.org for a copy of the article.
The Botanical Society of America is a non-profit membership society with a mission to promote botany, the field of basic science dealing with the study and inquiry into the form, function, development, diversity, reproduction, evolution, and uses of plants and their interactions within the biosphere. The Society publishes the American Journal of Botany, which will celebrate its Centennial Anniversary in 2014. In 2009, the Special Libraries Association named the American Journal of Botany one of the Top 10 Most Influential Journals of the Century in the field of Biology and Medicine.
For further information, please contact the AJB staff at ajb@botany.org.
The secret life of underground microbes: Plant root microbiomes rule the world
Microbial organisms associated with plant roots have far-flung global influences, from plant genetics to ecosystem health
2013-09-19
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Tiny bottles and melting corks: Temperature regulates new delivery system for drugs and fragrances
2013-09-19
Microscopic, bottle-like structures with corks that melt at precisely-controlled temperatures could potentially release drugs inside the body or fragrances onto the skin, according to a recently published study.
Typical drug delivery systems act more like sponges than bottles. For example, drugs are absorbed into polymer particles and then allowed to diffuse out over time. The researchers hope that the new system may allow for greater control of drug delivery. Cargo would stay inside the hollow polymer particle when plugged with a solid cork. When the cork is melted by ...
True colors: Female squid have 2 ways to switch color, according to a UCSB study
2013-09-19
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– The female common market squid –– AKA Doryteuthis opalescens –– may not be so common after all. Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have discovered that this glamorous cephalopod possesses a pair of stripes that can sparkle with rainbow iridescence. These flank a single stripe, which can go from complete transparency to bright white.
This marks the first time that switchable white cells based on reflectins –– the proteins responsible for reflecting light as color –– have been observed. The findings are published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.
The ...
Long-stressed Europa likely off-kilter at one time
2013-09-19
By analyzing the distinctive cracks lining the icy face of Europa, NASA scientists found evidence that this moon of Jupiter likely spun around a tilted axis at some point.
This tilt could influence calculations of how much of Europa's history is recorded in its frozen shell, how much heat is generated by tides in its ocean, and even how long the ocean has been liquid.
"One of the mysteries of Europa is why the orientations of the long, straight cracks called lineaments have changed over time. It turns out that a small tilt, or obliquity, in the spin axis, sometime in ...
New role for protein family could provide path to how crop traits are modified
2013-09-19
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Pioneering new research from a team of Indiana University Bloomington biologists has shown for the first time that a protein which has been long known to be critical for the initiation of protein synthesis in all organisms can also play a role in the regulation of gene expression in some bacteria, and probably land plants as well.
The protein, called translation initiation factor 3, or IF3, is one of three proteins that make up the core structure of the machinery needed to guide the joining of messenger RNAs and ribosomes as protein translation commences. ...
Smithsonian experts find e-readers can make reading easier for those with dyslexia
2013-09-19
As e-readers grow in popularity as convenient alternatives to traditional books, researchers at the Smithsonian have found that convenience may not be their only benefit. The team discovered that when e-readers are set up to display only a few words per line, some people with dyslexia can read more easily, quickly and with greater comprehension. Their findings are published in the Sept. 18 issue of the journal PLOS ONE.
An element in many cases of dyslexia is called a visual attention deficit. It is marked by an inability to concentrate on letters within words or words ...
Toxoplasma infection permanently shifts balance in cat and mouse game
2013-09-19
The Toxoplasma parasite can be deadly, causing spontaneous abortion in pregnant women or killing immune-compromised patients, but it has even stranger effects in mice.
Infected mice lose their fear of cats, which is good for both cats and the parasite, because the cat gets an easy meal and the parasite gets into the cat's intestinal track, the only place it can sexually reproduce and continue its cycle of infection.
New research by graduate student Wendy Ingram at the University of California, Berkeley, reveals a scary twist to this scenario: the parasite's effect ...
31 percent of timber, mining, agriculture concessions in 12 nations overlap with local land rights
2013-09-19
Interlaken, Switzerland (19 September, 2013)—A new analysis of land-use concessions in emerging market economies (EMEs) in Africa, Asia and Latin America shows that at least one out of every three hectares licensed for commercial exploitation is overlapped by indigenous community land.
The quantitative analysis found that land tenure is a statistically significant source of investment risk in emerging market economy concessions and extends across all land-dependent sectors, regardless of concession type. It shows that 31% of all commercial concessions (by area) are overlapped ...
Yellow peril: Are banana farms contaminating Costa Rica''s crocs?
2013-09-19
Shoppers spend over £10 billion on bananas annually and now this demand is being linked to the contamination of Central America's crocodilians. New research, published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, analyses blood samples from spectacled caiman in Costa Rica and finds that intensive pesticide use in plantations leads to contaminated species in protected conservation areas.
"Banana plantations are big business in Costa Rica, which exports an estimated 1.8 million tonnes per year; 10% of the global total," said author Paul Grant from Stellenbosch University, ...
After the storms, a different opinion on climate change
2013-09-19
Extreme weather may lead people to think more seriously about climate change, according to new research. In the wake of Hurricanes Irene and Sandy, New Jersey residents were more likely to show support for a politician running on a "green" platform, and expressed a greater belief that climate change is caused by human activity.
This research, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests that traumatic weather events may have the power to shift people's automatic attitudes — their first instincts — in favor of environmentally ...
What people don't get about my job
2013-09-19
Having a job is a privilege that brings many things - satisfaction, pride, a roof over your head, a way of life. But what happens when not everyone understands what you do, affecting how they perceive you and how much they want to pay you? A new study co-written by a Boston College Carroll School of Management professor aims to address that very issue.
Titled "What Clients Don't Get about My Profession: A Model of Perceived Role-Based Image Discrepancies" (published in the Academy of Management Journal), the study looks at four specific professions that are high in demand ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Study tracks chromium chemistry in irradiated molten salts
Scientists: the beautiful game is a silver bullet for global health
Being physically active, even just a couple of days a week, may be key to better health
High-fat diet promote breast cancer metastasis in animal models
A router for photons
Nurses and AI collaborate to save lives, reduce hospital stays
Multi-resistance in bacteria predicted by AI model
Tinker Tots: A citizen science project to explore ethical dilemmas in embryo selection
Sensing sickness
Cost to build multifamily housing in California more than twice as high as in Texas
Program takes aim at drinking, unsafe sex, and sexual assault on college campuses
Inability to pay for healthcare reaches record high in U.S.
Science ‘storytelling’ urgently needed amid climate and biodiversity crisis
KAIST Develops Retinal Therapy to Restore Lost Vision
Adipocyte-hepatocyte signaling mechanism uncovered in endoplasmic reticulum stress response
Mammals were adapting from life in the trees to living on the ground before dinosaur-killing asteroid
Low LDL cholesterol levels linked to reduced risk of dementia
Thickening of the eye’s retina associated with greater risk and severity of postoperative delirium in older patients
Almost one in ten people surveyed report having been harmed by the NHS in the last three years
Enhancing light control with complex frequency excitations
New research finds novel drug target for acute myeloid leukemia, bringing hope for cancer patients
New insight into factors associated with a common disease among dogs and humans
Illuminating single atoms for sustainable propylene production
New study finds Rocky Mountain snow contamination
Study examines lactation in critically ill patients
UVA Engineering Dean Jennifer West earns AIMBE’s 2025 Pierre Galletti Award
Doubling down on metasurfaces
New Cedars-Sinai study shows how specialized diet can improve gut disorders
Making moves and hitting the breaks: Owl journeys surprise researchers in western Montana
PKU Scientists simulate the origin and evolution of the North Atlantic Oscillation
[Press-News.org] The secret life of underground microbes: Plant root microbiomes rule the worldMicrobial organisms associated with plant roots have far-flung global influences, from plant genetics to ecosystem health