Root exudates are a pathway for plant-microbial communication and play a key role in ecosystem response to environmental change. Here, we collate recent evidence that shows that plants of different growth strategies differ in their root exudation, that root exudates can select for beneficial soil microbial communities, and that drought affects the quantity and quality of root exudation. We use this evidence to argue for a central involvement of root exudates in plant and microbial response to drought and propose a framework for understanding how root exudates influence ecosystem form and function during and after drought. Specifically, we propose that fast-growing plants modify their root exudates to recruit beneficial microbes that facilitate their regrowth after drought, with cascading impacts on their abundance and ecosystem functioning. We identify outstanding questions and methodological challenges that need to be addressed to advance and solidify our comprehension of the importance of root exudates in ecosystem response to drought.

https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/nph.16223

Plant root exudation under drought: implications for ecosystem functioning.

While it is known that interactions between plants and soil fungi drive many essential ecosystem functions, considerable uncertainty exists over the drivers of fungal community composition in the rhizosphere. Here, we examined the roles of plant species identity, phylogeny and functional traits in shaping rhizosphere fungal communities and tested the robustness of these relationships to environmental change. We conducted a glasshouse experiment consisting of 21 temperate grassland species grown under three different environmental treatments and characterised the fungal communities within the rhizosphere of these plants. We found that plant species identity, plant phylogenetic relatedness and plant traits all affected rhizosphere fungal community composition. Trait relationships with fungal communities were primarily driven by interactions with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and root traits were stronger predictors of fungal communities than leaf traits. These patterns were independent of the environmental treatments the plants were grown under. Our results showcase the key role of plant root traits, especially root diameter, root nitrogen and specific root length, in driving rhizosphere fungal community composition, demonstrating the potential for root traits to be used within predictive frameworks of plant-fungal relationships. Furthermore, we highlight how key limitations in our understanding of fungal function may obscure previously unmeasured plant-fungal interactions.

https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/nph.16976

Root traits explain rhizosphere fungal community composition among temperate grassland plant species

(1) Background: The study analyzed wheat morphological traits to assess the role of roots structure in the tolerance of drought and to recognize the mechanisms of root structure adjustment to dry soil environment. (2) Methods: Root-box and root-basket methods were applied to maintain an intact root system for analysis. (3) Results: Phenotypic differences among six genotypes with variable drought susceptibility index were found. Under drought, the resistant genotypes lowered their shoot-to-root ratio. Dry matter, number, length, and diameter of nodal and lateral roots were higher in drought-tolerant genotypes than in sensitive ones. The differences in the surface area of the roots were greater in the upper parts of the root system (in the soil layer between 0 and 15 cm) and resulted from the growth of roots of the tolerant plant at an angle of 0–30° and 30–60°. (4) Conclusions: Regulation of root bending in a more downward direction can be important but is not a priority in avoiding drought effects by tolerant plants. If this trait is reduced and accompanied by restricted root development in the upper part of the soil, it becomes a critical factor promoting plant sensitivity to water-limiting conditions.

https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/8/12/584/pdf

Variation Among Spring Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Genotypes in Response to the Drought Stress. II-Root System Structure.

Plants are exposed to increasingly severe drought events and roots play vital roles in maintaining plant survival, growth, and reproduction. A large body of literature has investigated the adaptive responses of root traits in various plants to water stress and these studies have been reviewed in certain groups of plant species at a certain scale. Nevertheless, these responses have not been synthesized at multiple levels. This paper screened over 2000 literatures for studies of typical root traits including root growth angle, root depth, root length, root diameter, root dry weight, root-to-shoot ratio, root hair length and density and integrates their drought responses at genetic and morphological scales. The genes, quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and hormones that are involved in the regulation of drought response of the root traits were summarized. We then statistically analyzed the drought responses of root traits and discussed the underlying mechanisms. Moreover, we highlighted the drought response of 1-D and 2-D root length density (RLD) distribution in the soil profile. This paper will provide a framework for an integrated understanding of root adaptive responses to water deficit at multiple scales and such insights may provide a basis for selection and breeding of drought tolerant crop lines.

/pdf/responses-of-root-system-architecture-to-water-stress-at-bub9663e.pdf

Responses of root system architecture to water stress at multiple levels: A meta-analysis of trials under controlled conditions

Plasticity of root traits plays an important role in plant growth and survival under changing climate. Shift in precipitation is one of the most pertinent global change factors driving changes in structure and function of grasslands. However, few studies have investigated intraspecific variation of root traits in response to precipitation change under field conditions. We conducted a 10‐year simulated increased precipitation experiment in a temperate grassland and a 700‐km regional scale transect along a precipitation gradient ranging from 144.23 to 412.29 mm in northern China. The morphological, chemical and anatomical traits of the first two‐order roots were determined on 15 common herbaceous species in the manipulation experiment and two regionally common species (Leymus chinensis, Artemisia frigida) along a precipitation gradient. We found that most of the root traits of the herbaceous species exhibited no significant responses to water addition. The two regionally common species adjusted their root traits at sites with the annual precipitation lower than certain value, that is 250 and 160 mm for L. chinensis and A. frigida, respectively. These results indicate that root traits of the herbaceous species exhibit little plasticity in response to precipitation change and that the adjustment of root traits occurs when the range of annual precipitation exceeds a certain threshold. Root traits of L. chinensis and A. frigida varied differently both in manipulation experiment and along the precipitation gradient. Root traits of L. chinensis were relatively constant, while A. frigida adjusted their morphological root traits in response to water addition. Moreover, L. chinensis showed higher specific root length (SRL) and area, and root N contents at sites with annual precipitation lower than c. 250 mm. In contrast, A. frigida displayed thicker roots with lower SRL and area at sites with annual precipitation lower than c. 160 mm. Our results showed that root traits of herbaceous species in temperate grasslands exhibited little plasticity and that different species have evolved diverse adaptive strategies in response to precipitation change. These novel findings provide valuable information to predict responses of temperate grasslands to future climate change.

https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1365-2435.13420

The response of root traits to precipitation change of herbaceous species in temperate steppes

Root characteristics are important for predicting plant and ecosystem responses to resource scarcity Simple, categorical traits for roots could be broadly applied to ecosystem function and restoration experiments, but they need to be evaluated for their role and behaviour under various stresses, including water limitation We hypothesised that more complex root architectures allow more plastic responses to limited water than do tap roots We carried out two greenhouse experiments: one with a range of grassland plant species; the other with only species of Asteraceae to test the responsiveness of root architectural classes to location of limited water in the soil column Using trait screening techniques and X-ray tomography, we measured the plasticity of the roots in response to water location Plasticity of root biomass was lowest in tap rooted species, while fibrous and rhizomatous roots allocated biomass preferentially to where the soil was wettest X-ray tomography indicated that root morphology was least plastic in rhizomatous species Our results provide a starting point to effective categorisation of plants in terms of rooting architecture that could aid in understanding drought tolerance of grassland species They also demonstrate the utility of X-ray tomography in root analyses

/pdf/root-architecture-governs-plasticity-in-response-to-drought-2nif4301pj.pdf

Root architecture governs plasticity in response to drought

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Root architecture governs plasticity in response to drought