Growth Substances in the Roots of Vicia faba II. THE EFFECTS OF AGEING AND EXCISION OF THE MAIN TAP-ROOT MERISTEM

A quantitative chromatographic study has been made of the changesin the activity and distribution of the main ether-soluble acidauxins of Vicia faba seedling root systems during developmentand resulting from excision of the main tap-root meristem. AnIAA-like auxin (AP (ii)) is apparently synthesized predominantlyin apical and at a lower rate in lateral meristems. Productionseems to stop when meristematic growth stops. Its concentrationin mature extended cells is much lower and may fall to zeroin old cells, suggesting active degradation by an auxin-oxidase.Excision of the main tap-root tip gradually results in a greatlyaugmented production of AP (ii) in lateral meristems, conceivablythe result of correlative growth promotion. A second auxin and root-growth inhibitor (AP (iii)) is presentat higher activity levels than AP (ii) in tap-root meristemsand at the same level in lateral meristems. In mature cellsits activity is much lower than that of AP (ii). In contrastto AP (ii) it accumulates in both tap-root meristems and maturetissue as the root system ages. It could also be produced duringmeristematic growth but is not subsequently degraded. As withAP (ii), excision of the tap-root tip brings about a great increasein its concentration in lateral tips. A third auxin and root-growth accelerator (AP (i)) (accelerator?) is present in lower concentrations in both meristem and maturetissue. Its concentration tends to decrease with ageing and,in lateral meristems, is not affected by tap-root tip excision. It is suggested that AP (ii) produced by the meristem is normallyat suboptimal levels in the extending cells and may be the principalhormone controlling extension growth. AP (iii) accumulationmay account for growth deceleration on ageing. The role of AP(i) remains obscure. It is unlikely that correlative effectsof the taproot tip on lateral root growth are exercised directlyvia these auxins.     

Developmental profile of intracellular compatments during Allium cepa root cell germination

The efflux kinetics of ⁸⁶Rb from 24 hr preloaded Allium cepacv. Evergreen Long White Bunching root tip cells through thefirst 120 hr of germination have been documented. Estimatesof the percent of isotope, the calculated amount present andthe halftime of efflux of the three root cell compartments presentwere made. Of the total isotope present the % in the vacuoledecreased from maxima of 64% to 40% with germination time, whilethe % of the isotope in the cytoplasm remained uniform near39%. The free space increased maximally throughout germinationto 20% by 120 hr. Rb content, based on specific activity calculations,of the slowest, intermediate and fastest compartments was seento rise from low levels at 52 hr germination toward maximalvalues by 96 hr. Speculation as to when a germinating root becomesfunctionally mature was attempted by comparing the times ofonset of major macromolecule synthesis (DNA, RNA, protein) tothat of maximal Rb content. Stable mitotic and DNA syntheticindices occurred at the 10 mm (72 hr) stage with the initiationof major macromolecules syntheses occurring prior to 2 mm (40hr). ⁸⁶Rb efflux data suggests that the compartments do notcontain maximal amounts until the 22 mm (96 hr) stage. (Received December 26, 1978; )     

Mapping meristem respiration of Prunus persica (L.) Batsch seedlings: potential respiration of the meristems, O2 diffusional constraints and combined effects on root growth

Root system architecture partially results from meristem activities, which themselves depend on endogenous and environmental factors, such as O2 depletion. In this study, meristem respiration and growth was measured in the root systems of three Prunus persica (L.) Batsch seedlings. The spatial distribution of meristem respiration within the root system was described, and the relationship between the respiration rates and meristem radii was analysed, using a model of radial O2 diffusion and consumption within the root. Histological observations were also used to help interpret the results. Respiration rates were linearly correlated to the root growth rates (rho 2 = 0.9). Respiration reached values greater than 3.5 x 10(-13) mol O2 s-1 for active meristems. The taproot meristem consumed more O2 than the rest of the entire root system meristems. Similarly, the first order lateral meristems used more O2 than the second order ones. A near hyperbolic relationship between respiration rates and meristem radii was observed. This can be explained by a model of radial O2 diffusion and consumption within the root. Therefore, only one maximum potential respiration rate and one O2 diffusion coefficient was estimated for all the meristems.     

Consequences of root growth kinetics and vascular structure on the distribution of lateral roots

It has been proposed that the acropetal initiation of lateral roots is a built‐in process specified as part of the general process of cell division and differentiation in the parent root tip. Conversely, it is commonly reported that root branching is essentially a variable feature. In the present study, the interlateral distance along the parent root has been investigated using three banana varieties (Musa spp.) grown in two substrates. The pattern of lateral root initiation was obscured by variations of root growth patterns and vascular structure among roots, genotypes and substrates. A framework model is formulated showing the influence of growth pattern and vascular structure on branching density. The model raises a distinction between growth components which should not affect the branching density (i.e. rate of cell division) and which may affect it (i.e. size of mature cells and number of transverse divisions performed by cells executing their trajectory in the meristem). It appears also that lateral root density and root growth rate might be independently modulated by appropriate changes of root growth patterns, in banana and presumably many other taxa.     

Morphogenesis in Selaginella. III. Meristem determination and cell differentiation.

Selaginella willdenovii Baker is a prostrate vascular cryptogam with a dorsiventral stem. At each major branching of the stem tip a dorsal and a ventral angle meristem are formed. The ventral meristem becomes determined as a root and the dorsal meristem as a shoot. Indoleacetic acid (IAA) is transported basipetally in the stem and has been found to be the regulatory agent for meristem determination both in vitro and in vivo.Growth measurements of intact plants indicated that the sequence of development for each stem unit is frond expansion, internodal elongation, ventral meristem growth as a root, and dorsal meristem growth as a shoot. The principal experimental findings of this study are as follows. Triiodobenzoic acid (TIBA), an inhibitor of auxin transport alters the normal pattern of development in intact plants, causing ventral meristems to develop as shoots and dorsal meristems to develop precociously. Dorsal meristems grown in sterile culture on an auxin-free medium develop as shoots, but in the presence of IAA develop as roots. Meristems transferred after excision from auxin-free to plus-auxin medium on successive days showed an increasing tendency to develop as shoots, with more than 50% doing so by day 5. The mitotic index is low at the time of excision of the meristem, rises to a peak on day 5 and then declines.     

Effect of percolation rate on nutrient kinetics and rice yield in tropical rice soils

A model is presented with which the contribution of longitudinal oxygen diffusion to total oxygen requirement of a root can be estimated. Oxygen transport in and respiration of the soil are taken into account. Given the air-filled root porosity, root diameter, coefficient of oxygen transfer between root and soil, root and soil respiration rate, and the coefficient for oxygen diffusion in the soil, the maximum length a root can attain with an adequate oxygen supply to the root tip can be calculated. Results show the importance of root porosity for root aeration, also in unsaturated soils. For thick roots (radius >0.03 cm), diffusion along the internal pathway can provide 50–75% of the total oxygen requirement even, at modest values of the root porosity.     

Effect of elicitation on growth, respiration, and nutrient uptake of root and cell suspension cultures of Hyoscyamus muticus

The elicitation of Hyoscyamus muticus root and cell suspension cultures by fungal elicitor from Rhizoctonia solani causes dramatic changes in respiration, nutrient yields, and growth. Cells and mature root tissues have similar specific oxygen uptake rates (SOUR) before and after the onset of the elicitation process. Cell suspension SOUR were 11 and 18 micromol O2/g FW x h for non-elicited control and elicited cultures, respectively. Mature root SOUR were 11 and 24 micromol O2/g FW x h for control and elicited tissue, respectively. Tissue growth is significantly reduced upon the addition of elicitor to these cultures. Inorganic yield remains fairly constant, whereas yield on sugar is reduced from 0.532 to 0.352 g dry biomass per g sugar for roots and 0.614 to 0.440 g dry biomass per g sugar for cells. This reduction in yield results from increased energy requirements for the defense response. Growth reduction is reflected in a reduction in root meristem (tip) SOUR, which decreased from 189 to 70 micromol O2/g FW x h upon elicitation. Therefore, despite the increase in total respiration, the maximum local oxygen fluxes are reduced as a result of the reduction in metabolic activity at the meristem. This distribution of oxygen uptake throughout the mature tissue could reduce mass transfer requirements during elicited production. However, this was not found to be the case for sesquiterpene elicitation, where production of lubimin and solavetivone were found to increase linearly up to oxygen partial pressures of 40% O2 in air. SOUR is shown to similarly increase in both bubble column and tubular reactors despite severe mass transfer limitations, suggesting the possibility of metabolically induced increases in tissue convective transport during elicitation.     

Monitoring of morphological development of the arachidonic-acid-producing filamentous microorganism Mortierella alpina

Morphological parameters, such as hyphal growth rate, tip formation rate, tip extension rate and branch formation rate, of Mortierella alpina have been measured using a flow-through chamber under 25 different combinations of carbon and nitrogen concentrations. Morphological parameters were influenced not by C/N ratio but by carbon concentration in the medium. Specific rates of hyphal growth and tip formation both remained constant at a low carbon concentration of 5 g/l. Tip extension rate from one tip was 60 microm tip(-1) h(-1) at a carbon concentration below 15 g/l, and the branching formation rate was independent of carbon concentration. Tip extension rate was a function of specific hyphal growth rate, which in turn was linearly proportional to the specific tip formation rate, demonstrating that tip extension rate was exponentially proportional to the specific tip formation rate. Branch formation rate per hyphal element remained unchanged even at tip extension rates lower than 60 microm tip(-1) h(-1) and at specific hyphal growth rates lower than 0.83 h(-1), but decreased drastically at higher rates of tip extension and hyphal growth.     

Basipetal propagation of gravity-induced surface pH changes along primary roots of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lepidium sativum</Emphasis> L.

While there is ample evidence for a role of auxin in root gravitropism, the seeming rapidity of gravi-induced changes in electrical parameters has so far been an argument against auxin being a primary signal in gravitropic signal transmission. To address this problem, we re-investigated the effect of gravistimulation on membrane voltages of Lepidium sativum L. and Vigna mungo L. root cells. In our hands, gravistimulation did not induce changes in membrane voltage in cells of the root cap statenchyma, root meristem or apical elongation zone that can be correlated with the orientation of the cells relative to the gravity vector. While these results challenge a model of rapid electrically based signal transmission, there is evidence for a slower signal propagation along gravistimulated L. sativum roots. Using multiple proton-selective microelectrodes to simultaneously measure surface pH on opposite root flanks at different distances from the root tip, we observed gravi-induced asymmetric pH changes at the surface of all investigated root zones. Upon gravistimulation, the surface pH decreased on the physically upper root flank and increased on the lower flank. The pH asymmetry appeared first [2.1+/-0.4 min (mean +/- SD) after tilting] at the root cap and then - with incrementing lag times - at the meristem (after 2.5+/-0.3 min at 300 micro m from root tip; after 3.7+/-0.4 min at 700 micro m) and apical elongation zone (4.8+/-0.5 min at 1,000 micro m), suggesting a basipetal progression of differential surface acidification at a rate of 250-350 micro m min(-1), consistent with reported auxin transport rates.     

Cell Division Heterogeneity in the Primary Meristems of Pisum sativum Root Tips after Excision

Root tips (1.0 cm) were excised, transferred to culture medium,sampled at intervals, embedded in paraffin and sectioned. Themitotic index in each primary meristem in the 2.0 mm tips wasreduced immediately after excision. After 8–12 h mitosisresumed. The position of mitotic figures in the protoderm, groundmeristem, procambium, and root cap was determined. The greatestnumber of mitotic figures occurred in the procambium, and uponexcision the smallest percent reduction also occurred in thisregion. The ground meristem showed the greatest reduction inmitotic figures. After excision, the relative contribution tothe total number of mitotic figures increased in the procambiumtissue and decreased in the ground meristem. Cell division inall primary meristems of the root tip is reduced after tip excision,but the ground meristem (cortical region) is the primary targettissue.     

Simulation of growth of a filamentous fungus in 3 dimensions

The tridimensional growth of a filamentous fungus was simulated, based on a model for the evolution of the microscopic morphology of Trichoderma reesei. When supplemented with a spatial representation of growth, the model correctly simulates the evolution from a single spore to a pellet. Diffusion of oxygen is included in the model. The simulated tridimensional structures have a fractal nature; and the fractal dimension, determined by a box-counting method, increases during growth. The fractal dimension only depends on the mass of the pellet and is not affected by model parameters such as tip extension rate and branching frequency. Realistic pictures are obtained and the radius of the pellet increases at a constant rate. The influence of model parameters (tip extension rate, branching frequency, minimum porosity) on dissolved oxygen concentration profiles, biomass concentration profiles, rate at which the pellet diameter increases, and the evolution of the fractal dimension was determined. The dissolved oxygen profiles were found to be very different from the profiles, obtained by assuming a homogenous biomass distribution within the pellet. Finally, the formation of pellets from spore aggregates is calculated and the size of the spore aggregate is found to only influence the time needed before the appearance of a pellet and not its morphology. (c) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The Control of Root Initiation and Development in Detached Cotyledons of Sinapis alba L. and Raphanus sativus L.

The initiation and development of root primordia in detachedcotyledons of Sinapis alba (white mustard) and Raphanus sativus(radish) are studied, together with the inhibitory effects ofsucrose and mineral nutrients on these processes. Root primordium initiation on petioles of excised mustard cotyledonscultured in petridishes in water commenced after 3 days andwas completed after 5 days in culture, by which time a numberof the primordia had extended and emerged from the petiole.Both sucrose and mineral nutrient solution had an inhibitoryeffect which was most marked when the cotyledonswere culturedin the solution from the time of excision. The total numberof primordia initiated, their rate of development, and the finaltotal number of emerged roots were all reduced. The later thetime of transfer from water either to sucrose or to nutrient,the less marked the inhibition. Indeed, nutrient solution enhancedroot growth in mustard when cotyledons were transferred after5 days in water when root emergence had just commenced. The effects of sucrose and nutrients in relation to applicationbefore and after initial meristem formation has taken placeare discussed, together with the ways in which these two solutionsmay exert their effect on root initiation and development.     

A simple procedure of Gossypium meristem shoot tip culture

In order to develop transgenic plants via the biolistic gun method regenerable embryogenic tissues are required. Meristem shoot tips of 19 cultivars of cotton were cultured on several media formulations and assessed for shoot and root development. The best shoot development was observed on media containing 0.46 mM kinetin while rooting was observed on media containing 2.68 mM NAA and 0.46 mM kinetin. No intervarietal variability was observed. A complete protocol was developed from meristem tip culture to field transfer. This methodology is simple and replaces the existing protocols for meristem tip culture of cotton. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Rescue of shoot apical meristems of chrysanthemum by culturing on root tips

A new method to regenerate plants from leaf primordia-free shoot apical meristem domes (LP-free SAMs) was developed by establishing the meristem dome on the cut surface of root tips. Ten days after culture, the viable rate of LP-free SAMs of chrysanthemum Piato attached to chrysanthemum root tips was >40%. Shoot regeneration was not observed from LP-free SAMs without the root tips. When LP-free SAMs of chrysanthemum were transferred to root tips of either petunia, cabbage, or carnation, the highest shoot regeneration rate was observed with cabbage root tips. Microscopic observation documented that the LP-free SAM temporarily adhered to the cut surface of the root tip of cabbage.Communicated by K.K. Kamo     

Protein Synthesis in Root Meristems

Comparative rates of incorporation of sulphate and L-leucmeinto proteins have been determined from autoradiographs forthe cells of root apices. This has confirmed the existence inmost roots of a quiescent centre where the rate of synthesisis much lower than in the surrounding cells. A more detailedaccount of leucine incorporation in the roots of Zea has beenmade by counting silver grains in quadrats on the autoradiographs.The rate of incorporation per unit volume increases on eitherside of the quiescent centre and then falls. On the proximalside the lowest rate of incorporation is below that in the quiescentcentre and is reached at 1–2 mm. from the tip. Fartherfrom the tip the rate rises. The rate of incorporation per celldoes not alter much in the first a mm. of the meristem, butbeyond that the rate rises steeply to between 15- and 5o-foldat 3 mm. from the tip. The patterns of change in rates of incorporationare different for the different tissues of the root.     

Pericellular oxygen depletion during ordinary tissue culturing, measured with oxygen microsensors

Recent research has found important differences in oxygen tension in proximity to certain mammalian cells when grown in culture. Oxygen has a low diffusion rate through cell culture media, thus, as a result of normal respiration, a decrease in oxygen tension develops close to the cells. Therefore, for the purpose of standardization and optimization, it is important to monitor pericellular oxygen tension and cell oxygen consumption. Here, we describe an integrated oxygen microsensor and recording system that allows measurement of oxygen concentration profiles in vertical transects through a 1.6-mm deep, stagnant, medium layer covering a cell culture. The measurement set-up reveals that, when confluent, a conventional culture of adherent cells, although exposed to the constant oxygen tension of ambient air, may experience pericellular oxygen tensions below the level required to sustain full oxidative metabolism. Depletions reported are even more prominent and potentially aggravating when the cell culture is incubated at reduced oxygen tensions (down to around 4% oxygen). Our results demonstrate that, if the pericellular oxygen tension is not measured, it is impossible to relate in vitro culture results (for example, gene expression to the oxygen tension experienced by the cell), as this concentration may deviate very substantially from the oxygen concentration recorded in the gas phase.     

Pattern selection in plants: coupling chemical dynamics to surface growth in three dimensions

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: A study is made by computation of the interplay between the pattern formation of growth catalysts on a plant surface and the expansion of the surface to generate organismal shape. Consideration is made of the localization of morphogenetically active regions, and the occurrence within them of symmetry-breaking processes such as branching from an initially dome-shaped tip or meristem. Representation of a changing and growing three-dimensional shape is necessary, as two-dimensional work cannot distinguish, for example, formation of an annulus from dichotomous branching. METHODS: For the formation of patterns of chemical concentrations, the Brusselator reaction-diffusion model is used, applied on a hemispherical shell and generating patterns that initiate as surface spherical harmonics. The initial shape is hemispherical, represented as a mesh of triangles. These are combined into finite elements, each made up of all the triangles surrounding each node. Chemical pattern is converted into shape change by moving nodes outwards according to the concentration of growth catalyst at each, to relieve misfits caused by area increase of the finite element. New triangles are added to restore the refinement of the mesh in rapidly growing regions. KEY RESULTS: The postulated mechanism successfully generates: tip growth (or stalk extension by an apical meristem) to ten times original hemisphere height; tip flattening and resumption of apical advance; and dichotomous branching and higher-order branching to make whorled structures. Control of the branching plane in successive dichotomous branchings is tackled with partial success and clarification of the issues. CONCLUSIONS: The representation of a growing plant surface in computations by an expanding mesh that has no artefacts constraining changes of shape and symmetry has been achieved. It is shown that one type of pattern-forming mechanism, Turing-type reaction-diffusion, acting within a surface to pattern a growth catalyst, can generate some of the most important types of morphogenesis in plant development.     

Efficiency of Root Respiration of a Flood-Tolerant and a Flood-Intolerant Senecio Species as Affected by Low Oxygen Tension

A method was described to determine root growth respiration and root maintenance respiration rate of plants, grown in culture solutions of high and low oxygen concentrations, during linear growth. Root growth respiration of aerobically grown plants was three to four times lower in the flood-intolerant Senecio jacobaea L. than in the flood-tolerant species. Senecio aquaticus Hill. Root growth respiration of Senecio aquaticus Hill decreased by a factor two to three upon transplantation to a culture solution of low oxygen tension. The difference in root growth respiration between aerobically and anaerobically grown Senecio aquaticus Hill was ascribed to the presence of a highly active non-phosphorylating oxidase.     

Tests of a cellular model for constant branch distribution in the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa

The growth of mycelial fungi is characterized by the highly polarized extension of hyphal tips and the formation of subapical branches, which themselves extend as new tips. In Neurospora crassa, tip growth and branching are crucial elements for this saprophyte in the colonization and utilization of organic substrates. Much research has focused on the mechanism of tip extension, but a cellular model that fully explains the known phenomenology of branching by N. crassa has not been proposed. We described and tested a model in which the formation of a lateral branch in N. crassa was determined by the accumulation of tip-growth vesicles caused by the excess of the rate of supply over the rate of deposition at the apex. If both rates are proportional to metabolic rate, then the model explains the known lack of dependence of branch interval on growth rate. We tested the model by manipulating the tip extension rate, first by shifting temperature in both the wild type and hyperbranching (colonial) mutants and also by observing the behavior of both tipless colonies and colonyless tips. We found that temperature shifts in either direction result in temporary changes in branching. We found that colonyless tips also pass through a temporary transition phase of branching. The tipless colonies produced a cluster of new tips near the point of damage. We also found that branching in colonial mutants is dependent on growth rate. The results of these tests are consistent with a model of branching in which branch initiation is controlled by the dynamics of tip growth while being independent of the actual rate of this growth.