#RootStressWeek
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🌱 Thank you to everyone who joined us for #RootStressWeek!

We hope this week brought new perspectives on root science and stimulated discussion around root responses to stress. We truly appreciate your engagement. 💚

#RootBiology #PlantStress #RootPhysiology #PlantScience
Promotional graphic for Annals of Botany reading “Root Stress Week!” with a thank-you message, featuring the Annals of Botany logo on a black background and a colorful fluorescent microscopy image of a plant root cross-section showing red, green, and yellow tissues.
December 22, 2025 at 11:23 AM
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🌱⚡🔬#RootStressWeek

Upstairs, downstairs: conserved and divergent CLAVATA signalling in shoot meristem development and root symbioses by Tiana Scott and co-authors in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qj6b

#RootBiology #RootPhysiology #PlantScience
CLV3/EMBRYO-SURROUNDING REGION peptide signalling in legumes links plant development and environmental responses, with pea studies revealing that different CLE receptors play distinct and sometimes opposing roles in controlling shoot growth, especially under cool conditions, highlighting both conserved and flexible functions of this pathway beyond symbiosis.
December 21, 2025 at 12:04 AM
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Roots go through rapid hydraulic recovery following moderate water stress by Feng-Ping Li and co-authors in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qj57

#RootBiology #PlantStress #RootPhysiology #PlantScience
December 22, 2025 at 12:52 AM
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The hidden half in the spotlight: the diverse strategies of root systems under stress by Hannah Schneider & Doris Vetterlein in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qjfr

#RootBiology #PlantStress #RootPhysiology #PlantScience
This Special Issue reveals that root responses depend on where the root is, when it develops and the evolutionary history behind it. Recognizing this context-dependence moves us beyond simple models and toward more realistic predictions of plant resilience.
December 15, 2025 at 12:03 PM
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🌱⚡🔬#RootStressWeek

Winter wheat phenotyping for deep root growth and function, reduced water stress and increased uptake of deep N and water by Arnesta Odone et al. in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qjtp

#RootBiology #RootPhysiology #PlantScience
Deep-rooted wheat genotypes consistently accessed more deep water and nitrogen and suffered less water stress, even in dry years—showing that deep rooting is a valuable, selectable trait that can be effectively phenotyped and integrated into breeding programmes.
December 17, 2025 at 11:19 PM
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Locating the microbes along the maize root system under nitrogen limitation: a root phenotypic approach by Tania Galindo-Castañeda et al. in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qjts

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#RootBiology #PlantScience
Root architecture and microbes work together to shape nitrogen acquisition: maize shows distinct microbial communities across depths and root types, and traits like lateral root branching strongly correlate with N-cycling microbes. Targeting root–microbe synergies could boost crop N efficiency and agricultural sustainability.
December 18, 2025 at 7:49 PM
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Hormonal regulation of root growth under moderately elevated temperatures by Tilman Jacob et al. in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/ps8z

#RootBiology #PlantStress #RootPhysiology #PlantScience
Warm temperatures trigger a surge in auxin signalling that speeds up both cell division and elongation, allowing young roots to grow longer. This discovery shows that roots can sense and respond to heat on their own, revealing a key below-ground adaptation that many crops may share.
December 15, 2025 at 5:10 PM
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🌱⚡🔬#RootStressWeek

Root system architecture reorganization under decreasing soil phosphorus lowers root system conductance of Zea mays by Felix Maximilian Bauer et al. in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qjpb

#RootBiology #RootPhysiology #PlantScience
As phosphorus becomes scarce, maize reorganizes its root system in ways that limit water uptake. This P-driven shift reduces root conductance and growth, showing that how roots are structured (not just how big they are) determines a plant’s ability to access water under stress.
December 16, 2025 at 10:23 AM
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Tree age affects key fine root morphological traits but does not interfere strongly with (ecto-)mycorrhizal traits by Yu Qin and co-authors in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qj59

#RootBiology #PlantStress #RootPhysiology #PlantScience
As trees grow older, they adjust how their roots explore the soil, shifting toward more efficient resource uptake, while their dependence on fungal partners remains largely unchanged. This shows that root strategies change naturally with age and that trees in mixed-age forests respond differently than those growing in uniform stands.
December 22, 2025 at 2:54 AM
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Drought response of the maize plant–soil–microbiome system is influenced by plant size and presence of root hairs by Roman Hartwig et al. in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qjpn

#RootBiology #PlantStress #RootPhysiology #PlantScience
Drought doesn’t act on plants, soil, or microbes alone. It reshapes the entire plant–soil–microbiome system. Maize with fewer root hairs showed milder drought responses, while wild-type plants increased exudation and triggered stronger microbial shifts, highlighting how root–soil interface traits shape stress propagation and ecosystem responses under water limitation.
December 17, 2025 at 12:26 AM
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Leaf manganese concentrations reveal phosphorus-mining strategies and trait diversification of Myrtaceae in south-eastern Australia by Li Yan and co-authors in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qj58

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Myrtaceae challenge the traditional mycorrhizal–non-mycorrhizal divide by using carboxylate-driven phosphorus mining despite fungal associations, revealing convergent evolution of P-acquisition strategies that helps explain their dominance and diversification in phosphorus-impoverished ecosystems.
December 20, 2025 at 8:11 PM
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🌱⚡🔬#RootStressWeek

Responses of maize roots, rhizosphere enzyme kinetics and prokaryote diversity to alternating precipitation: insights from a three-year field study by Henrike Würsig et al. in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qjtn

#PlantScience
Year-to-year shifts between dry and moist conditions strongly reshape maize root gene expression and rhizosphere microbes, showing that precipitation history (not just plant traits) drives plant–microbe interactions and matters for drought resilience.
December 17, 2025 at 8:06 PM
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Root mucilage enhances plant water use under combined soil and atmospheric drought by Asegidew Akale et al. in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qjtr

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#RootBiology #PlantStress #RootPhysiology #PlantScience
Root mucilage helps plants balance water use: it limits transpiration when soil is wet and preserves hydraulic continuity as soil dries. High-mucilage genotypes conserve water early and maintain water uptake longer, making mucilage a promising trait for improving drought resilience.
December 18, 2025 at 2:00 PM
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High-throughput monitoring of root diameter reveals the temporal dynamics of root decomposition by Lorène Siegwart et al. in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qjtt

#RootBiology #PlantStress #RootPhysiology #PlantScience
Root decomposition happens faster and earlier than expected, and root thickness, not soil depth, largely controls how quickly roots break down. Tracking individual roots with buried scanners offers a powerful new way to measure decomposition in situ and improve estimates of carbon inputs to soil.
December 19, 2025 at 1:10 AM
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🌱⚡🔬#RootStressWeek

Species habitat preferences and root trait variation across 65 temperate perennial forbs by Zuzana Münzbergová and co-authors in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qj6g

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#PlantScience
Differences in root traits among species are shaped mainly by the environments they are adapted to, especially levels of soil disturbance, rather than by lifespan or evolutionary history, with root form showing consistent patterns across environments while root chemistry and biomass allocation are more context dependent.
December 20, 2025 at 5:31 PM
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Mucilage facilitates root water uptake under edaphic stress: first evidence at the plant scale by Mohanned Abdalla et al. in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qjpk

#RootBiology #PlantStress #RootPhysiology #PlantScience
Plants that produce more root mucilage keep water flowing longer as soils dry. By smoothing the drop in water potential at the root–soil interface, mucilage helps maintain transpiration and delays hydraulic stress, revealing its key role in sustaining plant function under drought.
December 16, 2025 at 3:15 PM
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Science mapping of root ecology: a bibliometric review covering 2015–2024 by Huiliang Zhai et al. in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qjfs

#RootBiology #PlantStress #RootPhysiology #PlantScience
This global analysis reveals how root ecology has rapidly expanded, identifying the key ideas, methods and research themes now driving the field. By mapping where the science is and where it’s headed, the study shows how root ecology is shifting from theory toward real-world applications in agriculture, restoration and climate solutions.
December 15, 2025 at 7:36 PM
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The role of aerenchymatous gas spaces in root sodium ion management under salt stress: do they matter in rice? by Subhankar Mondal and co-authors in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qj6c

#RootBiology #RootPhysiology #PlantScience
Salt-tolerant rice genotypes respond to salinity by increasing root porosity and aerenchyma formation via programmed cell death, a root trait tightly linked to limiting Na⁺ transport to shoots while retaining K⁺—highlighting root tissue architecture as a key, selectable target for improving salt tolerance in rice.
December 21, 2025 at 2:39 PM
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🌱⚡🔬#RootStressWeek

Rice cycles between drought and well-watered-adapted phenotypes by changing lateral root formation by Helena Bochmann co-authors in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qj56

#RootBiology #PlantStress #RootPhysiology #PlantScience
This study shows that drought recovery in rice is strongly linked to root traits established before stress: genotypes with more thick lateral roots experience fewer structural changes during drought–re-wetting cycles and recover more effectively. ‘ARC 18202’ exemplifies this strategy and represents a promising resource for breeding drought-resilient rice.
December 20, 2025 at 1:04 PM
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🌱⚡🔬#RootStressWeek

Regulation of maize root growth by local phosphorus availability, sucrose metabolism, and partitioning by Yan Sun et al. in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qjft

#RootBiology #PlantStress #RootPhysiology #PlantScience
Regulation of maize root growth by local phosphorus availability, sucrose metabolism, and partitioning
December 16, 2025 at 1:53 AM
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Modern wheat has deeper roots than ancient wheats: is this an adaptation to higher productivity? by Arnesta Odone and Kristian Thorup-Kristensen in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qjtw

#RootBiology #RootPhysiology #PlantScience
Modern wheats outperform ancient wheats below ground: they grow deeper, more efficient root systems that improve water access and nitrogen use, helping sustain high yields, showing that breeding for productivity has also shaped root traits in important ways.
December 19, 2025 at 2:33 PM
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🌱⚡🔬#RootStressWeek

Transcriptional signatures associated with waterlogging stress responses and aerenchyma formation in barley root tissue by Orla Sherwood et al. in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qjtv

#RootBiology #RootPhysiology #PlantScience
Barley roots activate a coordinated genetic program to cope with waterlogging, and key regulatory genes linked to aerenchyma formation have now been identified. These findings provide promising targets for breeding barley varieties better able to withstand increasingly frequent flooding events.
December 19, 2025 at 11:56 AM
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Role of stele and cortex in understanding and predicting root tensile properties by Yuzhe Yang et al. in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qjtm

#RootBiology #PlantStress #RootPhysiology #PlantScience
Root strength isn’t determined by diameter alone. The stele and cortex each contribute differently to mechanical performance. By revealing their distinct behaviours and integrating them into a predictive model, this study offers a more accurate way to assess root tensile strength.
December 17, 2025 at 6:27 PM
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🌱⚡🔬#RootStressWeek

Enhanced lignin and cellulose metabolism promote cell wall synthesis and growth of wild soybean HRA under alkali stress by Yunan Hu and co-authors in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qj6d

#RootBiology #RootPhysiology #PlantScience
Wild soybean withstands alkali stress during early establishment by rapidly mobilizing cotyledon reserves and reinforcing hypocotyl–root axis cell walls, revealing stress-resilient traits absent in cultivated soybean that could be utilized to improve crop performance on saline–alkaline soils.
December 21, 2025 at 8:30 PM
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🌱⚡🔬#RootStressWeek

Temperature and plant-available soil phosphorus drive intraspecific variation in plant economic traits of Schima superba across an elevation gradient by Jinlong Li by Zhiwei Song co-authors in @annbot.bsky.social

#freeaccess article
👉 doi.org/qj55
Within a single tree species, leaf and root traits remain tightly coordinated across environmental gradients, forming an intraspecific whole-plant economics spectrum driven primarily by temperature and soil phosphorus rather than decoupling between above- and below-ground strategies.
December 20, 2025 at 2:18 PM