INTERACTROOT
Molecular basis for root-root interactions between wheat and weed
| Coordinatore | THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Organization address
address: The Old Schools, Trinity Lane contact info |
| Nazionalità Coordinatore | United Kingdom [UK] |
| Totale costo | 50˙000 € |
| EC contributo | 50˙000 € |
| Programma | FP7-PEOPLE
Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) |
| Code Call | FP7-PEOPLE-2010-RG |
| Funding Scheme | MC-IRG |
| Anno di inizio | 2011 |
| Periodo (anno-mese-giorno) | 2011-07-01 - 2013-12-29 |
Partecipanti
| # | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Organization address
address: The Old Schools, Trinity Lane contact info |
UK (CAMBRIDGE) | coordinator | 50˙000.00 |
Mappa
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Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)
'In natural and managed ecosystems such as agricultural fields, plants seldom grow alone, rather, they interact with individuals that belong to the same or different plant species. In an agricultural field, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plants interact with weedy species such as Alopecurus myosuroides (black-grass), and others. Wheat-weed interactions are detrimental to the crop and can lead to substantial yield loss. Gaining a better understanding of these interactions in particular belowground interactions is critical to develop wheat that can be grown under sustainable conditions. The main objectives for this proposal are (1) to establish whether roots from wheat can display different growth patterns in the presence of roots from weed species independently from resources availability, (2) to test whether root exudates contain a signal involved in root-root interactions and to possibly identify the specific compounds detected by the crop, and (3) to identify mechanisms of root interspecific interactions by studying root gene expression profiles and identifying potential regulatory genes and response pathways. A successful outcome of the described research would provide significant additional momentum to developing the root-root interaction theme into broader investigation including other rhizosphere interactions. Building a more complete model for below-ground interactions will be of interest for both ecological and agricultural research.'
Introduzione (Teaser)
Scientists have started to realise that plants interact with each other at the level of the root system. Now, they are studying whether weeds inhibit the growth of wheat plants through root signalling.
Descrizione progetto (Article)
Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is a major European crop, which may be being encroached upon by the blackgrass weed (Alopercurus myosuroides).
Many recent studies have found that roots of different plant species influence each other; however, the mechanisms of this interaction remain unclear.The EU-funded project 'Molecular basis for root-root interactions between wheat and weed' (INTERACTROOT) project set out to discover how blackgrass and wheat interact at the root level.
The project also looked into any specific compounds (called exudates) that blackgrass may use to signal wheat roots.Project members first developed a system for growing plants that would allow the roots to be studied.
This involved growing plants in clear, sterile boxes and a transparent growing medium under controlled growth conditions (nutrients, light, temperature, etc.).Growing wheat and blackgrass together reduced the number and length of lateral roots in wheat plants; when wheat plants were grown together, the length, but not the number, of lateral roots was reduced.
Nutrient supply had no effect on these interactions.A model system was used to understand the action of the blackgrass root exudate better.
This system showed that blackgrass root exudates increased the concentration of calcium (a common signalling molecule) in plant root cells.This direct evidence that the blackgrass weed influences the growth of wheat roots has long-reaching implications for agricultural productivity.
An important next step is to identify the specific exudates responsible for these changes.