Plant growth is continuously modulated by endogenous and exogenous stimuli. By no means the only, but well described, signaling molecules produced in plants and distributed through the plant body to orchestrate efficient growth are photosynthates. Light is a potent exogenous stimulus that determines, first, the rate of photosynthesis, but also the rate of plant growth. Root meristem activity is reduced with direct illumination but enhanced with increased sugar levels. With reduced cotyledon illumination, the seedling increases hypocotyl elongation until adequate light exposure is again provided. If endogenous carbon sources are limited, this leads to a temporary inhibition of root growth. Experimental growth conditions include exogenous supplementation of sucrose or glucose in addition to culturing seedlings under light exposure in Petri dishes. We compared total root length and hypocotyl elongation of Arabidopsis thaliana wild type Col-0 in response to illumination status and carbon source in the growth medium. Overall, sucrose supplementation promoted hypocotyl and root length to a greater extent than glucose supplementation. Glucose promoted root length compared to non-supplemented seedlings especially when cotyledon illumination was greatly reduced.

Department of Experimental Plant Biology Faculty of Science Charles University Prague Czech Republic

Laboratory of Hormonal Regulations in Plants Institute of Experimental Botany Czech Academy of Sciences Prague Czech Republic

Molecular Systems Biology Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology University of Vienna Vienna Austria

Vienna Metabolomics Center University of Vienna Vienna Austria

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Pierik R, Testerink C.. The art of being flexible: how to escape from shade, salt, and drought1. Plant Physiol. 2014;166(1):1–5. doi:10.1104/pp.114.239160. PubMed DOI PMC

Silva-Navas J, Moreno-Risueno MA, Manzano C, Pallero-Baena M, Navarro-Neila S, Téllez-Robledo B, Garcia-Mina JM, Baigorri R, Gallego FJ, Del Pozo JC.. D-root: a system for cultivating plants with the roots in darkness or under different light conditions. Plant J. 2015;84(1):244–255. doi:10.1111/tpj.12998. PubMed DOI

Morris EC, Griffiths M, Golebiowska A, Mairhofer S, Burr-Hersey J, Goh T, von Wangenheim D, Atkinson B, Sturrock CJ, Lynch JP, et al. Shaping 3D root system architecture. Current Biology. 2017;27(17):R919–R930. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.06.043. PubMed DOI

Van Gelderen K, Kang C, Pierik R. Light signaling, root development, and plasticity. Plant Physiol. 2018;176(2):1049–1060. doi:10.1104/pp.17.01079. PubMed DOI PMC

Retzer K, Akhmanova M, Konstantinova N, Malínská K, Leitner J, Petrášek J, Luschnig C. Brassinosteroid signaling delimits root gravitropism via sorting of the Arabidopsis PIN2 Auxin transporter. Nat Commun. 2019;10(1). doi:10.1038/s41467-019-13543-1. PubMed DOI PMC

Mo M, Yokawa K, Wan Y, Baluska F. How and why do root apices sense light under the soil surface? Front Plant Sci. 2015. doi:10.3389/fpls.2015.00775. PubMed DOI PMC

Ötvös K, Marconi M, Vega A, O’Brien J, Johnson A, Abualia R, Antonielli L, Montesinos JC, Zhang Y, Tan S, et al. Modulation of plant root growth by nitrogen source‐defined regulation of polar auxin transport. EMBO J. 2021;40(3). doi:10.15252/embj.2020106862. PubMed DOI PMC

Wan Y, Yokawa K, Baluška F. Arabidopsis Roots and Light: complex Interactions. Mol Plant. 2019;12(11):1428–1430. doi:10.1016/j.molp.2019.10.001. PubMed DOI

Retzer K, Weckwerth W. The tor–auxin connection upstream of root hair growth. Plants. 2021;10(1):150. doi:10.3390/plants10010150. PubMed DOI PMC

Hoermiller II, Naegele T, Augustin H, Stutz S, Weckwerth W, Heyer AG. Subcellular reprogramming of metabolism during cold acclimation in Arabidopsis Thaliana. Plant Cell Environ. 2017;40(5):602–610. doi:10.1111/pce.12836. PubMed DOI

Fürtauer L, Weiszmann J, Weckwerth W, Nägele T. Dynamics of plant metabolism during cold acclimation. Int J Mol Sci. 2019;20(21):21. doi:10.3390/ijms20215411. PubMed DOI PMC

MacGregor DR, Deak KI, Ingram PA, Malamy JE. Root system architecture in Arabidopsis grown in culture is regulated by sucrose uptake in the aerial tissues. Plant Cell. 2008;20(10):2643–2660. doi:10.1105/tpc.107.055475. PubMed DOI PMC

Mishra BS, Singh M, Aggrawal P, Laxmi A, El-Shemy HA. Glucose and auxin signaling interaction in controlling Arabidopsis Thaliana seedlings root growth and development. PLoS One. 2009;4(2):e4502. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0004502. PubMed DOI PMC

Sairanen I, Novák O, Pěnčík A, Ikeda Y, Jones B, Sandberg G, Ljung K. Soluble carbohydrates regulate auxin biosynthesis via PIF proteins in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell. 2013;24(12):4907–4916. doi:10.1105/tpc.112.104794. PubMed DOI PMC

Nunes C, O’Hara LE, Primavesi LF, Delatte TL, Schluepmann H, Somsen GW, Silva AB, Fevereiro PS, Wingler A, Paul MJ. The trehalose 6-phosphate/SnRK1. signaling pathway primes growth recovery following relief of sink limitation. Plant Physiol. 2013;162(3):1720–1732. doi:10.1104/pp.113.220657. PubMed DOI PMC

Silva-Navas J, Conesa CM, Saez A, Navarro-Neila S, Garcia-Mina JM, Zamarreño AM, Baigorri R, Swarup R, del Pozo JC. Role of cis-zeatin in root responses to phosphate starvation. New Phytol. 2019;224(1):242–257. doi:10.1111/nph.16020. PubMed DOI

Laxmi A, Pan J, Morsy M, Chen R, Berger F. Light plays an essential role in intracellular distribution of auxin efflux carrier PIN2 in Arabidopsis Thaliana. PLoS One. 2008;3(1):e1510. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001510. PubMed DOI PMC

Xu W, Ding G, Yokawa K, Baluška F, Li QF, Liu Y, Shi W, Liang J, Zhang J. An Improved agar-plate method for studying root growth and response of Arabidopsis Thaliana. Sci Rep. 2013. doi:10.1038/srep01273. PubMed DOI PMC

Sassi M, Lu Y, Zhang Y, Wang J, Dhonukshe P, Blilou I, Dai M, Li J, Gong X, Jaillais Y, et al. COP1 mediates the coordination of root and shoot growth by light through modulation of PIN1- and PIN2-dependent auxin transport in Arabidopsis. Dev. 2012;139(18):3402–3412. doi:10.1242/dev.078212. PubMed DOI

Halat LS, Gyte K, Wasteneys GO. Microtubule-associated protein CLASP is translationally regulated in light-dependent root apical meristem growth. Plant Physiol. 2020;184(4):2154–2167. doi:10.1104/pp.20.00474. PubMed DOI PMC

Kircher S, Schopfer P. Photosynthetic sucrose acts as cotyledon-derived long-distance signal to control root growth during early seedling development in Arabidopsis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012;109(28):11217–11221. doi:10.1073/pnas.1203746109. PubMed DOI PMC

García-González J, Lacek J, Retzer K. Dissecting hierarchies between light, sugar and auxin action underpinning root and root hair growth. Plants. 2021;10(1):111. doi:10.3390/plants10010111. PubMed DOI PMC

Van Gelderen K, Kang C, Paalman R, Keuskamp D, Hayes S, Far-Red Light PR. Detection in the shoot regulates lateral root development through the HY5 transcription factor. Plant Cell. 2018;30(1):101–116. doi:10.1105/tpc.17.00771. PubMed DOI PMC

Collett CE, Harberd NP, Leyser O. Hormonal Interactions in the Control of Arabidopsis hypocotyl elongation. Plant Physiol. 2000;124(2):553–562. doi:10.1104/pp.124.2.553. PubMed DOI PMC

Simon NML, Sawkins E, Dodd AN. Involvement of the SnRK1 subunit KIN10 in sucrose-induced hypocotyl elongation. Plant Signal Behav. 2018;13(6):e1457913. doi:10.1080/15592324.2018.1457913. PubMed DOI PMC

Simon NML, Kusakina J, Fernández-López Á, Chembath A, Belbin FE, Dodd AN. The energy-signaling hub SnRK1 is important for sucrose-induced hypocotyl elongation. Plant Physiol. 2018;176(2):1299–1310. doi:10.1104/pp.17.01395. PubMed DOI PMC

Yokawa K, Fasano R, Kagenishi T, Baluška F. Light as stress factor to plant roots – case of root halotropism. Front Plant Sci. 2014. doi:10.3389/fpls.2014.00718. PubMed DOI PMC

Silva-Navas J, Moreno-Risueno MA, Manzano C, Téllez-Robledo B, Navarro-Neila S, Carrasco V, Pollmann S, Gallego FJ, Del Pozo JC. Flavonols mediate root phototropism and growth through regulation of proliferation-to-differentiation Transition. Plant Cell. 2016;28(6):1372–1387. doi:10.1105/tpc.15.00857. PubMed DOI PMC

Stevenson CC, Harrington GN. The impact of supplemental carbon sources on arabidopsis thaliana growth, chlorophyll content and anthocyanin accumulation. Plant Growth Regul. 2009;59(3):255. doi:10.1007/s10725-009-9412-x. DOI

Baskin TI, Remillong EL, Wilson JE. The impact of mannose and other carbon sources on the elongation and diameter of the primary root of Arabidopsis thaliana. Funct Plant Biol. 2001;28(6):481–488. doi:10.1071/PP01047. DOI

Recent insights into metabolic and signalling events of directional root growth regulation and its implications for sustainable crop production systems

Throttling Growth Speed: Evaluation of aux1-7 Root Growth Profile by Combining D-Root system and Root Penetration Assay

Lessons Learned from the Studies of Roots Shaded from Direct Root Illumination