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Root plasticity vs. elasticity – When are responses acclimative?

Colombi, Tino; Pandey, Bipin K.; Chawade, Aakash; Bennett, Malcolm J.; Mooney, Sacha; Keller, Thomas

Root plasticity vs. elasticity – When are responses acclimative? Thumbnail


Authors

Aakash Chawade

Thomas Keller



Abstract

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 to evaluate the acclimative value of root responses that distinguishes between stress responses that are persistent and reversible upon stress release, termed ‘plasticity’ and ‘elasticity’, respectively. Using energy balances, we provide theoretical evidence that the advantage of plasticity over elasticity increases with the number of edaphic stress cycles and if responses lead to comparatively high energy gains. Our framework provides a conceptual basis for assessing the acclimative value of root responses to soil heterogeneity and can catalyse research on crop adaptations to heterogeneous belowground environments.

Citation

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

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 23, 2024
Online Publication Date Feb 13, 2024
Publication Date 2024-08
Deposit Date Jan 24, 2024
Publicly Available Date Feb 14, 2025
Journal Trends in Plant Science
Print ISSN 1360-1385
Electronic ISSN 1878-4372
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 29
Issue 8
Pages 856-864
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2024.01.003
Keywords root–soil interactions, bioenergetics, soil heterogeneity, phenotypic acclimation
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/30137103
Publisher URL https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1360138524000189

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