- Lateral root
Lateral roots extend horizontally from the primary
root and serve to anchor the plant securely into the soil. This branching of roots also contributes to water uptake, and facilitates the extraction ofnutrients required for the growth and development of the plant.Many different factors are involved in the formation of lateral roots. Regulation of root formation is tightly controlled by
plant hormones such asauxin , and by the precise control of aspects of thecell cycle . Such control can be particularly useful: increased auxin levels, which help to promote lateral root development, occur when youngleaf primordia form and are able to synthesise the hormone. This allows coordination of root development with leaf development, enabling a balance betweencarbon andnitrogen metabolism to be established.Early Morphological Changes
The following description is for early events in lateral root formation of the model organism "
Arabidopsis thaliana ", where lateral roots typically form when the plant is between seven and nine days old.
*Stage I: The first morphologically identifiable stage is theasymmetric division of two cells of thepericycle , termed pericycle founder cells, which are adjacent to theprotoxylem poles and from which the lateral roots are derived entirely. These cells then undergo further division, causing radial expansion.
*Stage II: The small, central cells then divide periclinally (parallel to the surface of the plant body) in a series oftransverse , asymmetric divisions such that the youngprimordium becomes visible as a projection made up of an inner layer and an outer layer.
*Stages III and IV: At the third stage, the outer layer of cells divide so that the primordium is now made of three layers. The fourth stage is then characterised by the inner layer undergoing a similar division, such that four cell layers are visible.
*Stages V to VIII: Expansion and further division of these four layers eventually results in the emergence of the young lateral root from the parent tissue (the overlying tissue of the primary root) at stage eight.References
*Malamy, JE. And Benfey, P.N. (1997) Down and out in Arabidopsis: The formation of lateral roots. Trends in Plant Sciences 2: 390–396
*Casimiro, I., Beeckman, T., Graham, N., Bhalerao, R., Zang, H., Casero, P., Sandberg, G. and Bennet, M. (2003) Dissecting Arabidopsis Lateral Root Development. Trends in Plant Science 8, 4: 165-169.
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