Professor MALCOLM BENNETT's Outputs (135)

Missing the input: the underrepresentation of plant physiology in global soil carbon research (2025)
Journal Article
Raza, S., V. Cooper, H., T. Girkin, N., S. Kent, M., J. Bennett, M., J. Mooney, S., & Colombi, T. (2025). Missing the input: the underrepresentation of plant physiology in global soil carbon research. SOIL, 11(1), 363-369. https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-11-363-2025

Plant processes regulating the quantity and quality of soil organic carbon inputs such as photosynthesis, above- and below-ground plant growth, and root exudation are integral to our understanding of soil carbon dynamics. However, based on a bibliome... Read More about Missing the input: the underrepresentation of plant physiology in global soil carbon research.

Single-cell transcriptomics reveal how root tissues adapt to soil stress (2025)
Journal Article
Zhu, M., Hsu, C.-W., Peralta Ogorek, L. L., Taylor, I. W., La Cavera, S., Oliveira, D. M., Verma, L., Mehra, P., Mijar, M., Sadanandom, A., Perez-Cota, F., Boerjan, W., Nolan, T. M., Bennett, M. J., Benfey, P. N., & Pandey, B. K. (2025). Single-cell transcriptomics reveal how root tissues adapt to soil stress. Nature, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08941-z

Land plants thrive in soils showing vastly different properties and environmental stresses1. Root systems can adapt to contrasting soil conditions and stresses, yet how their responses are programmed at the individual cell scale remains unclear. Usin... Read More about Single-cell transcriptomics reveal how root tissues adapt to soil stress.

Roles of hormones in regulating root growth–water interactions (2025)
Journal Article
Sharma, S., Bennett, M. J., & Mehra, P. (2025). Roles of hormones in regulating root growth–water interactions. Journal of Experimental Botany, 76(7), 1987-1995. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/eraf063

Water stress presents a critical challenge affecting plant growth and agricultural productivity, with drought alone causing substantial yield losses. Roots serve as the primary site for water uptake, enabling plants to detect water stress by sensing... Read More about Roles of hormones in regulating root growth–water interactions.

Moisture-responsive root-branching pathways identified in diverse maize breeding germplasm (2025)
Journal Article
Kieber, J., Zheng, Z., Schnable, P. S., Dinneny, J. R., Banda, J., Sturrock, C. J., Pandey, B. K., Bennett, M., Scharwies, J. D., Clarke, T., Dinneny, A., Birkeland, S., Veltman, M. A., Torres-Martínez, H. H., Viana, W. G., & Khare, R. (2025). Moisture-responsive root-branching pathways identified in diverse maize breeding germplasm. Science, 387(6734), 666-673. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ads5999

Plants grow complex root systems to extract unevenly distributed resources from soils. Spatial differences in soil moisture are perceived by root tips, leading to the patterning of new root branches toward available water in a process called hydropat... Read More about Moisture-responsive root-branching pathways identified in diverse maize breeding germplasm.

Genetic control of the leaf ionome in pearl millet and correlation with root and agromorphological traits (2025)
Preprint / Working Paper
Nakombo-Gbassault, P., Arenas, S., Affortit, P., Faye, A., Flis, P., Sine, B., Moukouanga, D., Gantet, P., Kosh Komba, E., Kane, N., Bennett, M., Wells, D., Cubry, P., Bailey, E., Grondin, A., Vigouroux, Y., & Laplaze, L. Genetic control of the leaf ionome in pearl millet and correlation with root and agromorphological traits

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) thrives in arid and nutrient-poor environments, establishing its role as a crucial cereal crop for food security in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite its remarkable adaptability, its yields remain below genetic potential,... Read More about Genetic control of the leaf ionome in pearl millet and correlation with root and agromorphological traits.

ABA-auxin cascade regulates crop root angle in response to drought (2025)
Journal Article
Xiong, Y., Song, X., Mehra, P., Yu, S., Li, Q., Tashenmaimaiti, D., Bennett, M., Kong, X., Bhosale, R., & Huang, G. (2025). ABA-auxin cascade regulates crop root angle in response to drought. Current Biology, 35(3), 542-553.e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.12.003

Enhancing drought resistance through the manipulation of root system architecture (RSA) in crops represents a crucial strategy for addressing food insecurity challenges. Abscisic acid (ABA) plays important roles in drought tolerance; yet, its molecul... Read More about ABA-auxin cascade regulates crop root angle in response to drought.

Auxin-dependent post-translational regulation of MONOPTEROS in the Arabidopsis root (2024)
Journal Article
Cavalleri, A., Astori, C., Truskina, J., Cucinotta, M., Farcot, E., Chrysanthou, E., Xu, X., Muino, J. M., Kaufmann, K., Kater, M. M., Vernoux, T., Weijers, D., Bennett, M. J., Bhosale, R., Bishopp, A., & Colombo, L. (2024). Auxin-dependent post-translational regulation of MONOPTEROS in the Arabidopsis root. Cell Reports, 43(12), Article 115083. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2024.115083

Auxin plays a pivotal role in plant development by activating AUXIN RESPONSE FACTORs (ARFs). Under low auxin levels, ARF activity is inhibited by interacting with Aux/IAAs. Aux/IAAs are degraded when the cellular auxin concentration increases, causin... Read More about Auxin-dependent post-translational regulation of MONOPTEROS in the Arabidopsis root.

Root RADAR: how 'rhizocrine' signals allow roots to detect and respond to their soil environment and stresses (2024)
Journal Article
Pandey, B. K., George, T. S., Cooper, H. V., Sturrock, C. J., Bennett, T., & Bennett, M. J. (2025). Root RADAR: how 'rhizocrine' signals allow roots to detect and respond to their soil environment and stresses. Journal of Experimental Botany, 76(9), 1500-1509. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erae490

Agricultural intensification coupled with changing climate are causing soils to become increasingly vulnerable to stresses such as drought, soil erosion and compaction. The mechanisms by which roots detect and respond to soil stresses remains poorly... Read More about Root RADAR: how 'rhizocrine' signals allow roots to detect and respond to their soil environment and stresses.

Root metaxylem area influences drought tolerance and transpiration in pearl millet in a soil texture dependent manner (2024)
Preprint / Working Paper
Affortit, P., Faye, A., Jones, D. H., Benson, E., Sine, B., Burridge, J., Ndoye, M. S., Barry, L., Moukouanga, D., Barnard, S., Bhosale, R., Pridmore, T., Gantet, P., Vadez, V., Cubry, P., Kane, N., Bennett, M., Atkinson, J. A., Laplaze, L., Wells, D. M., & Grondin, A. (2024). Root metaxylem area influences drought tolerance and transpiration in pearl millet in a soil texture dependent manner

Pearl millet is a key cereal for food security in drylands but its yield is strongly impacted by drought. We investigated how root anatomical traits contribute to mitigating the effects of vegetative drought stress in pearl millet.

We examined ass... Read More about Root metaxylem area influences drought tolerance and transpiration in pearl millet in a soil texture dependent manner.

The auxin efflux carrier PIN1a regulates vascular patterning in cereal roots (2024)
Journal Article
Fusi, R., Milner, S. G., Rosignoli, S., Bovina, R., De Jesus Vieira Teixeira, C., Lou, H., Atkinson, B. S., Borkar, A. N., York, L. M., Jones, D. H., Sturrock, C. J., Stein, N., Mascher, M., Tuberosa, R., O'Connor, D., Bennett, M. J., Bishopp, A., Salvi, S., & Bhosale, R. (2024). The auxin efflux carrier PIN1a regulates vascular patterning in cereal roots. New Phytologist, 244(1), 104-115. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.19777

Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is an important global cereal crop and a model in genetic studies. Despite advances in characterising barley genomic resources, few mutant studies have identified genes controlling root architecture and anatomy, which plays a... Read More about The auxin efflux carrier PIN1a regulates vascular patterning in cereal roots.

Root hairs facilitate rice root penetration into compacted layers (2024)
Journal Article
Kong, X., Yu, S., Xiong, Y., Song, X., Nevescanin-Moreno, L., Wei, X., Rao, J., Zhou, H., Bennett, M. J., Pandey, B. K., & Huang, G. (2024). Root hairs facilitate rice root penetration into compacted layers. Current Biology, 34(10), 2039-2048. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.064

Compacted soil layers adversely affect rooting depth and access to deeper nutrient and water resources, thereby impacting climate resilience of crop production and global food security. Root hair plays well-known roles in facilitating water and nutri... Read More about Root hairs facilitate rice root penetration into compacted layers.

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, 29(7), 814-822. 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.

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?.

Glutaredoxin regulation of primary root growth is associated with early drought stress tolerance in pearl millet (2024)
Journal Article
de la Fuente, C., Grondin, A., Sine, B., Debieu, M., Belin, C., Hajjarpoor, A., Atkinson, J. A., Passot, S., Salson, M., Orjuela, J., Tranchant-Dubreuil, C., Brossier, J.-R., Steffen, M., Morgado, C., Dinh, H. N., Pandey, B. K., Darmau, J., Champion, A., Petitot, A.-. S., Barrachina, C., …Laplaze, L. (2024). Glutaredoxin regulation of primary root growth is associated with early drought stress tolerance in pearl millet. eLife, https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.86169

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.

Author Response: Glutaredoxin regulation of primary root growth is associated with early drought stress tolerance in pearl millet (2024)
Preprint / Working Paper
de la Fuente, C., Grondin, A., Sine, B., Debieu, M., Belin, C., Hajjarpoor, A., Atkinson, J. A., Passot, S., Salson, M., Orjuela, J., Tranchant-Dubreuil, C., Brossier, J.-R., Steffen, M., Morgado, C., Dinh, H. N., Pandey, B. K., Darmau, J., Champion, A., Petitot, A.-S., Barrachina, C., …Laplaze, L. Author Response: Glutaredoxin regulation of primary root growth is associated with early drought stress tolerance in pearl millet

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 Author Response: Glutaredoxin regulation of primary root growth is associated with early drought stress tolerance in pearl millet.

Glutaredoxin regulation of primary root growth confers early drought stress tolerance in pearl millet (2023)
Preprint / Working Paper
de la Fuente, C., Grondin, A., Sine, B., Debieu, M., Belin, C., Hajjarpoor, A., Atkinson, J. A., Passot, S., Salson, M., Orjuela, J., Tranchant-Dubreuil, C., Brossier, J.-R., Steffen, M., Morgado, C., Dinh, H. N., Pandey, B. K., Darmau, J., Champion, A., Petitot, A.-. S., Barrachina, C., …Laplaze, L. Glutaredoxin regulation of primary root growth confers early drought stress tolerance in pearl millet

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 confers early drought stress tolerance in pearl millet.

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.

Mechanistic insight into the role of AUXIN RESISTANCE4 in trafficking of AUXIN1 and LIKE AUX1-2 (2023)
Journal Article
Tidy, A., Abu Bakar, N., Carrier, D., Kerr, I. D., Hodgman, C., Bennett, M. J., & Swarup, R. (2024). Mechanistic insight into the role of AUXIN RESISTANCE4 in trafficking of AUXIN1 and LIKE AUX1-2. Plant Physiology, 194(1), 422-433. https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiad506

AUXIN RESISTANCE4 (AXR4) regulates the trafficking of auxin influx carrier AUXIN1 (AUX1), a plasma-membrane protein that predominantly localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in the absence of AXR4. In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), AUX1 is... Read More about Mechanistic insight into the role of AUXIN RESISTANCE4 in trafficking of AUXIN1 and LIKE AUX1-2.

Turning up the volume: How root branching adaptive responses aid water foraging (2023)
Journal Article
Mehra, P., Fairburn, R., Leftley, N., Banda, J., & Bennett, M. J. (2023). Turning up the volume: How root branching adaptive responses aid water foraging. Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 75, Article 102405. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbi.2023.102405

Access to water is critical for all forms of life. Plants primarily access water through their roots. Root traits such as branching are highly sensitive to water availability, enabling plants to adapt their root architecture to match soil moisture di... Read More about Turning up the volume: How root branching adaptive responses aid water foraging.

Transcription factor bHLH121 regulates root cortical aerenchyma formation in maize (2023)
Journal Article
Schneider, H. M., Lor, V. S., Zhang, X., Saengwilai, P., Hanlon, M. T., Klein, S. P., Davis, J. L., Borkar, A. N., Depew, C. L., Bennett, M. J., Kaeppler, S. M., Brown, K. M., Bhosale, R., & Lynch, J. P. (2023). Transcription factor bHLH121 regulates root cortical aerenchyma formation in maize. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(12), Article e2219668120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2219668120

Root anatomical phenotypes present a promising yet underexploited avenue to deliver major improvements in yield and climate resilience of crops by improving water and nutrient uptake. For instance, the formation of root cortical aerenchyma (RCA) sign... Read More about Transcription factor bHLH121 regulates root cortical aerenchyma formation in maize.