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Ethylene regulates auxin-mediated root gravitropic machinery and controls root angle in cereal crops (2024)
Journal Article
Kong, X., Xiong, Y., Song, X., Wadey, S., Yu, S., Rao, J., …Huang, G. (2024). Ethylene regulates auxin-mediated root gravitropic machinery and controls root angle in cereal crops. Plant Physiology, Article kiae134. https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiae134

Root angle is a critical factor in optimizing the acquisition of essential resources from different soil depths. The regulation of root angle relies on the auxin-mediated root gravitropism machinery. While the influence of ethylene on auxin levels is... Read More about Ethylene regulates auxin-mediated root gravitropic machinery and controls root angle in cereal crops.

A genomic toolkit for winged bean Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (2024)
Journal Article
Ho, W. K., Tanzi, A. S., Sang, F., Tsoutsoura, N., Shah, N., Moore, C., …Mayes, S. (2024). A genomic toolkit for winged bean Psophocarpus tetragonolobus. Nature Communications, 15(1), Article 1901. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45048-x

A sustainable supply of plant protein is critical for future generations and needs to be achieved while reducing green house gas emissions from agriculture and increasing agricultural resilience in the face of climate volatility. Agricultural diversi... Read More about A genomic toolkit for winged bean Psophocarpus tetragonolobus.

Genetic regulation of the root angle in cereals (2024)
Journal Article
Kirschner, G. K., Hochholdinger, F., Salvi, S., Bennett, M. J., Huang, G., & Bhosale, R. A. (2024). Genetic regulation of the root angle in cereals. Trends in Plant Science, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2024.01.008

The root angle plays a critical role in efficiently capturing nutrients and water from different soil layers. Steeper root angles enable access to mobile water and nitrogen from deeper soil layers, whereas shallow root angles facilitate the capture o... Read More about Genetic regulation of the root angle in cereals.

Preventing and Controlling Zinc Deficiency Across the Life Course: A Call to Action (2024)
Journal Article
Lowe, N. M., Hall, A. G., Broadley, M. R., Foley, J., Boy, E., & Bhutta, Z. A. (2024). Preventing and Controlling Zinc Deficiency Across the Life Course: A Call to Action. Advances in Nutrition, 15(3), Article 100181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advnut.2024.100181

Through diverse roles, zinc determines a greater number of critical life functions than any other single micronutrient. Beyond the well-recognized importance of zinc for child growth and resistance to infections, zinc has numerous specific roles cove... Read More about Preventing and Controlling Zinc Deficiency Across the Life Course: A Call to Action.

Heat and salinity stress on the African eggplant F1 Djamba, a Kumba cultivar (2024)
Journal Article
David-Rogeat, N., Broadley, M. R., & Stavridou, E. (2024). Heat and salinity stress on the African eggplant F1 Djamba, a Kumba cultivar. Frontiers in Plant Science, 15, Article 1323665. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1323665

Climate change is expected to increase soil salinity and heat-wave intensity, duration, and frequency. These stresses, often present in combination, threaten food security as most common crops do not tolerate them. The African eggplant (Solanum aethi... Read More about Heat and salinity stress on the African eggplant F1 Djamba, a Kumba cultivar.

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, 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?.

Drought and heatwave affected the African eggplant differently when present in combination than individually (2024)
Journal Article
David-Rogeat, N., Broadley, M., & Stavridou, E. (2024). Drought and heatwave affected the African eggplant differently when present in combination than individually. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 220, Article 105670. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2024.105670

Heat waves and drought periods are set to happen more often due to a changing climate, especially in Africa. The African eggplant, Solanum aethiopicum L., is a highly nutritious vegetable crop indigenous to Africa commonly grown by small-holder farme... Read More about Drought and heatwave affected the African eggplant differently when present in combination than individually.

Urine Se concentration poorly predicts plasma Se concentration at sub-district scales in Zimbabwe, limiting its value as a biomarker of population Se status (2024)
Journal Article
Mutonhodza, B., Dembedza, M. P., Joy, E. J. M., Manzeke-Kangara, M. G., Njovo, H., Nyadzayo, T. K., …Chopera, P. (2024). Urine Se concentration poorly predicts plasma Se concentration at sub-district scales in Zimbabwe, limiting its value as a biomarker of population Se status. Frontiers in Nutrition, 11, Article 1288748. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2024.1288748

Introduction: The current study investigated the value of urine selenium (Se) concentration as a biomarker of population Se status in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Method: Urine and plasma Se concentrations were measured among children aged 6–59 mont... Read More about Urine Se concentration poorly predicts plasma Se concentration at sub-district scales in Zimbabwe, limiting its value as a biomarker of population Se status.

The evolution of the duckweed ionome mirrors losses in structural complexity (2024)
Journal Article
Smith, K. E., Zhou, M., Flis, P., Jones, D., Bishopp, A., & Yant, L. (in press). The evolution of the duckweed ionome mirrors losses in structural complexity. Annals of Botany, Article mcae012. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcae012

Background and Aims The duckweeds (Lemnaceae) consist of 36 species exhibiting impressive phenotypic variation, including the progressive evolutionary loss of a fundamental plant organ, the root. Loss of roots and reduction of vascular tissues in re... Read More about The evolution of the duckweed ionome mirrors losses in structural complexity.

Mehlich 3 as an indicator of grain nutrient concentration for five cereals in sub-Saharan Africa (2024)
Journal Article
Haefele, S. M., Mossa, A. W., Gashu, D., Nalivata, P. C., Broadley, M. R., McGrath, S. P., & Thomas, C. L. (2024). Mehlich 3 as an indicator of grain nutrient concentration for five cereals in sub-Saharan Africa. Field Crops Research, 307, Article 109243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2023.109243

Context or Problem: Soil testing for available nutrients is an important tool to determine fertilizer rates, however many standard methods test the availability of a single nutrient only. In contrast, Mehlich 3 (M3) is a multi-element test for predic... Read More about Mehlich 3 as an indicator of grain nutrient concentration for five cereals in sub-Saharan Africa.

Differences in the nutritional quality of improved finger millet genotypes in Ethiopia (2024)
Journal Article
Teklu, D., Gashu, D., Joy, E. J. M., Bailey, E. H., Wilson, L., Amede, T., & Broadley, M. R. (2024). Differences in the nutritional quality of improved finger millet genotypes in Ethiopia. Scientific Reports, 14(1), Article 460. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-48749-3

Improved crop genotypes are constantly introduced. However, information on their nutritional quality is generally limited. The present study reports the proximate composition and the concentration and relative bioavailability of minerals of improved... Read More about Differences in the nutritional quality of improved finger millet genotypes in Ethiopia.

Glutaredoxin regulation of primary root growth is associated with early drought stress tolerance in pearl millet (2023)
Journal Article
de la Fuente, C., Grondin, A., Sine, B., Debieu, M., Belin, C., Hajjarpoor, A., …Laplaze, L. (2023). Glutaredoxin regulation of primary root growth is associated with early drought stress tolerance in pearl millet. eLife, 12, Article RP86169. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.86169.3

Seedling root traits impact plant establishment under challenging environments. Pearl millet is one of the most heat and drought tolerant cereal crops that provides a vital food source across the sub-Saharan Sahel region. Pearl millet’s early root sy... Read More about Glutaredoxin regulation of primary root growth is associated with early drought stress tolerance in pearl millet.

FTIR spectra from grass pollen: A quest for species-level resolution of Poaceae and Cerealia-type pollen grains (2023)
Journal Article
Katsi, F., Kent, M. S., Jones, M., Fraser, W. T., Jardine, P. E., Eastwood, W., …Lomax, B. H. (2024). FTIR spectra from grass pollen: A quest for species-level resolution of Poaceae and Cerealia-type pollen grains. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 321, Article 105039. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2023.105039

Palynological analysis based on spore and pollen morphology is well established in the field of palaeo-environmental reconstruction but is currently not fully exploited for understanding the history and development of cereal cultivation due to diffic... Read More about FTIR spectra from grass pollen: A quest for species-level resolution of Poaceae and Cerealia-type pollen grains.

Fluctuations in auxin levels depend upon synchronicity of cell divisions in a one-dimensional model of auxin transport (2023)
Journal Article
Bellows, S., Janes, G., Avitabile, D., King, J. R., Bishopp, A., & Farcot, E. (2023). Fluctuations in auxin levels depend upon synchronicity of cell divisions in a one-dimensional model of auxin transport. PLoS Computational Biology, 19(11), Article e1011646. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011646

Auxin is a well-studied plant hormone, the spatial distribution of which remains incompletely understood. Here, we investigate the effects of cell growth and divisions on the dynamics of auxin patterning, using a combination of mathematical modelling... Read More about Fluctuations in auxin levels depend upon synchronicity of cell divisions in a one-dimensional model of auxin transport.

Associations between endogenous spike cytokinins and grain-number traits in spring wheat genotypes (2023)
Journal Article
Love, B., Molero, G., Rivera-Amado, C., Müller, M., Munné-Bosch, S., Reynolds, M. P., & Foulkes, M. J. (2024). Associations between endogenous spike cytokinins and grain-number traits in spring wheat genotypes. European Journal of Agronomy, 152, Article 127011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2023.127011

Genetic variation in grain number has been positively associated with levels of cytokinins in inflorescences in cereals, although studies quantifying endogenous levels in the field are currently lacking. The present study, using a spring wheat associ... Read More about Associations between endogenous spike cytokinins and grain-number traits in spring wheat genotypes.

Linking soil adsorption-desorption characteristics with grain zinc concentrations and uptake by teff, wheat and maize in different landscape positions in Ethiopia (2023)
Journal Article
Desta, M. K., Broadley, M. R., McGrath, S. P., Hernandez-Allica, J., Hassall, K. L., Gameda, S., …Haefele, S. M. (2023). Linking soil adsorption-desorption characteristics with grain zinc concentrations and uptake by teff, wheat and maize in different landscape positions in Ethiopia. Frontiers in Agronomy, 5, Article 1285880. https://doi.org/10.3389/fagro.2023.1285880

Aim: Zinc deficiencies are widespread in many soils, limiting crop growth and contributing to Zn deficiencies in human diets. This study aimed at understanding soil factors influencing grain Zn concentrations and uptake of crops grown in different la... Read More about Linking soil adsorption-desorption characteristics with grain zinc concentrations and uptake by teff, wheat and maize in different landscape positions in Ethiopia.

Uncovering root compaction response mechanisms: new insights and opportunities (2023)
Journal Article
Pandey, B. K., & Bennett, M. J. (2024). Uncovering root compaction response mechanisms: new insights and opportunities. Journal of Experimental Botany, 75(2), 578-583. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erad389

Compaction disrupts soil structure, reducing root growth, nutrient and water uptake, gas exchange, and microbial growth. Root growth inhibition by soil compaction was originally thought to reflect the impact of mechanical impedance and reduced water... Read More about Uncovering root compaction response mechanisms: new insights and opportunities.

Elementary effects for models with dimensional inputs of arbitrary type and range: Scaling and trajectory generation (2023)
Journal Article
Rutjens, R. J., Band, L. R., Jones, M. D., & Owen, M. R. (2023). Elementary effects for models with dimensional inputs of arbitrary type and range: Scaling and trajectory generation. PLoS ONE, 18(10), Article e0293344. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0293344

The Elementary Effects method is a global sensitivity analysis approach for identifying (un)important parameters in a model. However, it has almost exclusively been used where inputs are dimensionless and take values on [0, 1]. Here, we consider mode... Read More about Elementary effects for models with dimensional inputs of arbitrary type and range: Scaling and trajectory generation.

Modelling how plant cell-cycle progression leads to cell size regulation (2023)
Journal Article
Williamson, D., Tasker-Brown, W., Murray, J., Jones, A. R., & Band, L. R. (2023). Modelling how plant cell-cycle progression leads to cell size regulation. PLoS Computational Biology, 19(10), Article e1011503. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011503

Populations of cells typically maintain a consistent size, despite cell division rarely being precisely symmetrical. Therefore, cells must possess a mechanism of “size control”, whereby the cell volume at birth affects cell-cycle progression. While s... Read More about Modelling how plant cell-cycle progression leads to cell size regulation.

Dietary selenium intake among Ethiopian children in areas known for selenium spatial variability (2023)
Journal Article
Hailu, K., Joy, E. J., Ferguson, E. L., Bailey, E. H., Wilson, L., Davis, K., …Gashu, D. (2023). Dietary selenium intake among Ethiopian children in areas known for selenium spatial variability. Frontiers in Nutrition, 10, Article 1250002. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2023.1250002

Introduction: There is spatial variability of selenium (Se) in soil and crops in Ethiopia. We assessed the Se content of food items, breast milk and urine, among infants in Ethiopia from two areas with contrasting Se concentrations in soils. Metho... Read More about Dietary selenium intake among Ethiopian children in areas known for selenium spatial variability.