Outputs (23)

Future crop breeding needs to consider future soils (2025)
Journal Article
Raza, S., Pandey, B. K., Hawkesford, M. J., Griffiths, S., Bennett, M. J., & Mooney, S. J. (2025). Future crop breeding needs to consider future soils. Nature Plants, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-025-01977-z

Modern crop breeding and seed certification agencies ignore the known spatial heterogeneity of soils and develop cultivars to thrive in a ‘one-size-fits-all’ soil environment. Neglecting the evolving dynamics of soils substantially undermines the cap... Read More about Future crop breeding needs to consider future soils.

Root-soil-microbiome management is key to the success of Regenerative Agriculture (2024)
Journal Article
Mooney, S., Castrillo, G., Cooper, H., & Bennett, M. (2024). Root-soil-microbiome management is key to the success of Regenerative Agriculture. Nature Food, 5, 451–453. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-024-01001-1

Building soil health and manipulating the soil microbiome, alongside targeted plant breeding that prioritizes preferential root architectural development, hold the key to the future success of regenerative agriculture. Greater integration is needed b... Read More about Root-soil-microbiome management is key to the success of Regenerative Agriculture.

Root plasticity vs. elasticity – When are responses acclimative? (2024)
Journal Article
Colombi, T., Pandey, B. K., Chawade, A., Bennett, M. J., Mooney, S., & Keller, T. (2024). Root plasticity vs. elasticity – When are responses acclimative?. Trends in Plant Science, 29(8), 856-864. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2024.01.003

Spatiotemporal soil heterogeneity and the resulting edaphic stress cycles can be decisive for crop growth. However, our understanding of the acclimative value of root responses to heterogeneous soil conditions remains limited. We outline a framework... Read More about Root plasticity vs. elasticity – When are responses acclimative?.

Hydraulic flux–responsive hormone redistribution determines root branching (2022)
Journal Article
Mehra, P., Pandey, B. K., Melebari, D., Banda, J., Leftley, N., Couvreur, V., Rowe, J., Anfang, M., De Gernier, H., Morris, E., Sturrock, C. J., Mooney, S. J., Swarup, R., Faulkner, C., Beeckman, T., Bhalerao, R. P., Shani, E., Jones, A. M., Dodd, I. C., Sharp, R. E., …Bennett, M. J. (2022). Hydraulic flux–responsive hormone redistribution determines root branching. Science, 378(6621), 762-768. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.add3771

Plant roots exhibit plasticity in their branching patterns to forage efficiently for heterogeneously distributed resources, such as soil water. The xerobranching response represses lateral root formation when roots lose contact with water. Here, we s... Read More about Hydraulic flux–responsive hormone redistribution determines root branching.

Root angle is controlled by EGT1in cereal crops employing anantigravitropic mechanism (2022)
Journal Article
Fusi, R., Rosignoli, S., Lou, H., Sangiorgi, G., Bovina, R., Pattem, J. K., Borkar, A. N., Lombardi, M., Forestan, C., Milner, S. G., Davis, J. L., Lale, A., Kirschner, G. K., Swarup, R., Tassinari, A., Pandey, B. K., York, L. M., Atkinson, B. S., Sturrock, C. J., Mooney, S. J., …Salvi, S. (2022). Root angle is controlled by EGT1in cereal crops employing anantigravitropic mechanism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,

Root angle in crops represents a key trait for efficient capture of soil resources. Root angle is determined by competing gravitropic versus anti-gravitropic offset (AGO) mechanisms. Here we report a new root angle regulatory gene termed ENHANCED GRA... Read More about Root angle is controlled by EGT1in cereal crops employing anantigravitropic mechanism.

Ethylene inhibits rice root elongation in compacted soil via ABA- and auxin-mediated mechanisms (2022)
Journal Article
Huang, G., Kilic, A., Karady, M., Zhang, J., Mehra, P., Song, X., Sturrock, C. J., Zhu, W., Qin, H., Hartman, S., Schneider, H. M., Bhosale, R., Dodd, I. C., Sharp, R. E., Huang, R., Mooney, S. J., Liang, W., Bennett, M. J., Zhang, D., & Pandey, B. K. (2022). Ethylene inhibits rice root elongation in compacted soil via ABA- and auxin-mediated mechanisms. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(30), Article e2201072119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2201072119

Soil compaction represents a major agronomic challenge, inhibiting root elongation and impacting crop yields. Roots use ethylene to sense soil compaction as the restricted air space causes this gaseous signal to accumulate around root tips. Ethylene... Read More about Ethylene inhibits rice root elongation in compacted soil via ABA- and auxin-mediated mechanisms.

Long‐term zero‐tillage enhances the protection of soil carbon in tropical agriculture (2021)
Journal Article
Cooper, H. V., Sjögersten, S., Lark, R. M., Girkin, N. T., Vane, C. H., Calonego, J. C., Rosolem, C., & Mooney, S. J. (2021). Long‐term zero‐tillage enhances the protection of soil carbon in tropical agriculture. European Journal of Soil Science, 72(6), 2477-2492. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.13111

Contrasting tillage strategies not only affect the stability and formation of soil aggregates but also modify the concentration and thermostability of soil organic matter associated with soil aggregates. Understanding the thermostability and carbon r... Read More about Long‐term zero‐tillage enhances the protection of soil carbon in tropical agriculture.

To till or not to till in a temperate ecosystem? Implications for climate change mitigation (2021)
Journal Article
Cooper, H. V., Sjögersten, S., Lark, R. M., & Mooney, S. J. (2021). To till or not to till in a temperate ecosystem? Implications for climate change mitigation. Environmental Research Letters, 16(5), Article 054022. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abe74e

The management of agricultural soils affect the composition and scale of their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. There is conflicting evidence on the effect of zero-tillage on carbon storage and GHG emissions. Here we assess the effects of zero-tillage... Read More about To till or not to till in a temperate ecosystem? Implications for climate change mitigation.

The ability of maize roots to grow through compacted soil is not dependent on the amount of roots formed (2021)
Journal Article
Vanhees, D. J., Loades, K. W., Bengough, A. G., Mooney, S. J., & Lynch, J. P. (2021). The ability of maize roots to grow through compacted soil is not dependent on the amount of roots formed. Field Crops Research, 264, Article 108013. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2020.108013

© 2020 Elsevier B.V. Mechanical impedance is a primary constraint to root growth and hence the capture of soil resources. To investigate whether rooting depth and root length under mechanical impedance caused by compaction are correlated we evaluated... Read More about The ability of maize roots to grow through compacted soil is not dependent on the amount of roots formed.

Multiseriate cortical sclerenchyma enhance root penetration in compacted soils (2021)
Journal Article
Schneider, H. M., Strock, C. F., Hanlon, M. T., Vanhees, D. J., Perkins, A. C., Ajmera, I. B., Singh Sidhu, J., Mooney, S. J., Brown, K. M., & Lynch, J. P. (2021). Multiseriate cortical sclerenchyma enhance root penetration in compacted soils. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(6), Article e2012087118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2012087118

Mechanical impedance limits soil exploration and resource capture by plant roots. We examine the role of root anatomy in regulating plant adaptation to mechanical impedance and identify a root anatomical phene in maize (Zea mays) and wheat (Triticum... Read More about Multiseriate cortical sclerenchyma enhance root penetration in compacted soils.