The effects of dwarfing genes on seedling root growth of wheat

Wojciechowski, T., Gooding, M. J., Ramsay, L. and Gregory, P. J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4118-4833 (2009) The effects of dwarfing genes on seedling root growth of wheat. Journal of Experimental Botany, 60 (9). pp. 2565-2573. ISSN 0022-0957 doi: 10.1093/jxb/erp107

Abstract/Summary

Most modern wheat cultivars contain major dwarfing genes, but their effects on root growth are unclear. Near-isogenic lines (NILs) containing Rht-B1b, Rht-D1b, Rht-B1c, Rht8c, Rht-D1c, and Rht12 were used to characterize the effects of semi-dwarfing and dwarfing alleles on root growth of 'Mercia' and 'Maris Widgeon' wheat cultivars. Wheat seedlings were grown in gel chambers, soil-filled columns, and in the field. Roots were extracted and length and dry mass measured. No significant differences in root length were found between semi-dwarfing lines and the control lines in any experiment, nor was there a significant difference between the root lengths of the two cultivars grown in the field. Total root length of the dwarf lines (Rht-B1c, Rht-D1c, and Rht12) was significantly different from that of the control although the effect was dependent on the experimental methodology; in gel chambers root length of dwarfing lines was increased by; 40% while in both soil media it was decreased (by 24-33%). Root dry mass was 22-30% of the total dry mass in the soil-filled column and field experiments. Root length increased proportionally with grain mass, which varied between NILs, so grain mass was a covariate for the analysis of variance. Although total root length was altered by dwarf lines, root architecture (average root diameter, lateral root: total root ratio) was not affected by reduced height alleles. A direct effect of dwarfing alleles on root growth during seedling establishment, rather than a secondary partitioning effect, was suggested by the present experiments.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/9393
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Agriculture, Policy and Development Interdisciplinary centres and themes > Soil Research Centre
Uncontrolled Keywords	Rht1, Rht2, Rht3, Rht8, Rht10, Rht12, Triticum aestivum, dryland field conditions, green-revolution, spring wheat, semi-dwarf, water-use, signaling pathway, isogenic lines, height, tall, soil
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