The structure of rice roots grown in aerobic and anaerobic environments

Summary Anatomy and structure was examined in roots of rice grown in aerated solutions for 4 weeks (‘non-adapted plants’) or for the last 6 days in N₂-flushed solutions (‘adapted plants’). Structures of roots of adapted and non-adapted plants were similar. In both cases, the cortex of basal tissue consisted predominantly of elongated cells which extended radially across almost the entire cortex. A lack of protoplasm in many of these cells indicates that they have no metabolic function, and longitudinal sections show that these structures may constitute a pathway for oxygen movement down the root. Apical tissues did not contain this type of structure. re]19760217