Root Traits for Crop Improvement under Water Stress
A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Use and Irrigation".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2021) | Viewed by 2048
Special Issue Editor
Interests: plant molecular biology and physiology; physiological phenotyping to narrow the genotype-to-phenotype knowledge gap for crop improvement; Analysis of Root System Architecture (RSA) and rhizosphere engineering
Special Issue Information
Drought limits water uptake by plant roots and results in reduced transpiration and photosynthesis, which can have drastic effects on growth and productivity of food and bioenergy crops. Plant responses to water stress involve complex cross-talk between different regulatory pathways, including physiological and molecular adjustments at whole-plant, organ, tissue, and cellular levels. The root system is the primary plant organ that senses water deficiency in a drying soil and generates the first signals that orchestrate the machinery leading to water stress responses. Recently, an expanding area of interest has been devoted to characterizing root traits associated with water stress. However, our knowledge of root responses to drought in its molecular, physiological, and morphological levels remains fragmentary. Research in this area will lead to identifying root traits or “ideotypes” that have the potential to improve plant productivity under water stress.
This Special Issue will focus, as titled, on “Root Traits for Crop Improvement under Water Stress.” We seek articles describing the molecular physiology and phenomics of root system architecture in response to water-deficit condition. We welcome original research articles and reviews covering all related topics including root metabolite and exudate profiling, ion uptakes, hydraulic conductivity, xylem diameter, genotype–phenotype association, and non-invasive imaged-based phenotyping.
Dr. Amir H. Ahkami
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- Root
- drought
- water stress
- drought-induced senescence
- phenotype
- trait
- crop productivity
- biomass
- metabolite profile
- gene expression
- protein abundances
- enzyme activities
- exudates
- root system architecture (RSA)
- root hair
- root branching
- root hydraulic conductivity
- ion uptake
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