Introduced organic pollutants in all ecosystem compartments can cause stress resulting in a wide range of responses including different root development. In this study, the effects of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-fluoranthene (FLT; 0.1, 1 and 7 mg L(-1)) on the growth, morphology and anatomical structure of roots of pea and maize was evaluated. In comparison with pea, significant stimulation of root system growth of maize caused by 0.1 mg L(-1) (total length longer by 25%, number of lateral roots by 35%) and its reduction (total length by 34%) already by 1 mg L(-1) FLT is the proof of different interspecies sensitivity to low and higher environmental loading. Nevertheless in both plant species a high loading 7 mg L(-1) FLT significantly reduced both growth (total length by 95% in pea, 94% in maize) and the number of lateral roots (by 78% in pea, 94% in maize). Significantly increased thickness of root of both maize and pea was caused by 7 mg L(-1) FLT and in maize already by 0.1 mg L(-1) FLT. It may be mainly connected with an enlargement of stele area (up to 50% in pea and 25% in maize). Increased xylem area in root tip (by up to 385% in pea, 167% in maize) and zone of maturation (up to 584% in pea, 70% in maize) and its higher portion in stele area of root tip (by 9% in pea, 21% in maize), mainly in roots exposed 7 mg L(-1) FLT, are a proof of an early differentiation of vascular tissue and a shortening of root elongation zone. Moreover in both plant species exposed to this treatment, the decline of rhizodermis cells and external layers of primary cortex was found and also significant deformation of primordia of lateral roots was recorded.

• MeSH
• fluoreny toxicita   MeSH
• fyziologický stres MeSH
• hrách setý anatomie a histologie   účinky léků   fyziologie   MeSH
• kořeny rostlin anatomie a histologie   účinky léků   fyziologie   MeSH
• kukuřice setá anatomie a histologie   účinky léků   fyziologie   MeSH
• látky znečišťující půdu toxicita   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as an important group of emerging environmental contaminants in irrigation water and soils can influence biochemical and physiological processes essential for growth and development in plants as non-target organisms. Plants are able to take up, transport, transform, and accumulate drugs in the roots. Root biomass in ten-days old pea plants was lowered by 6% already under 0.1 mg/L naproxen (NPX) due to a lowered number of lateral roots, although 0.5 mg/L NPX stimulated the total root length by 30% as against control. Higher section area (by 40%) in root tip, area of xylem (by 150%) or stele-to-section ratio (by 10%) in zone of maturation, and lower section area in zone of lateral roots (by 18%) prove the changes in primary root anatomy and its earlier differentiation at 10 mg/L NPX. Accumulated NPX (up to 10 μg/g DW at 10 mg/L) and products of its metabolization in roots increased the amounts of hydrogen peroxide (by 33%), and superoxide (by 62%), which was reflected in elevated lipid peroxidation (by 32%), disruption of membrane integrity (by 89%) and lowering both oxidoreductase and dehydrogenase activities (by up to 40%). Elevated antioxidant capacity (SOD, APX, and other molecules) under low treatments decreased at 10 mg/L NPX (both by approx. 30%). Naproxen was proved to cause changes at both cellular and tissue levels in roots, which was also reflected in their anatomy and morphology. Higher environmental loading through drugs thus can influence even the root function.

• MeSH
• antiflogistika nesteroidní toxicita   MeSH
• antioxidancia metabolismus   MeSH
• hrách setý účinky léků   fyziologie   MeSH
• kořeny rostlin MeSH
• naproxen toxicita   MeSH
• oxidační stres účinky léků   MeSH
• peroxid vodíku metabolismus   MeSH
• peroxidace lipidů MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Výzkumná studie je zaměřena na prožívání životní naplněnosti a existenciálního zakotvení u souboru vysokoškolských studentů, budoucích učitelů (n = 346, z toho 294 žen) ve věku 19–27 let. Data z Logo-testu a NEO pětifaktorového osobnostního inventáře byla podrobena analýze v kontextu vybraných osobnostních rysů. Výsledky přesvědčivě prokazují dostatečně smysluplný a existenciálně zakotvený život u většiny našich respondentů (95,6 %), pouze výrazná menšina (4,4 %) vykazuje existenciální frustraci. Zjištěny byly intersexuální diference a významná pozitivní vazba mezi mírou prožívaného životního smyslu a osobnostních rysů extraverze, přívětivosti, otevřenosti vůči zkušenosti a svědomitosti. Negativní korelace se projevila ve vztahu subjektivního prožívání smyslu a osobnostní charakteristiky neuroticismus.

Background. The individually experienced fulfilment of one's own life is utterly unique. It is a very important experience with regard to the quality of life of each individual and their mental health and work performance. This topic has attracted increased research interest in the Czech Republic in recent decades, especially in the discourses of psychology and pedagogy. Methods. The research study documented in this contribution deals with the experience of life fulfilment and existential grounding in a group of university students who were future teachers (n = 346, of whom 294 were women) aged 19–27 years. Two questionnaires were used to collect the data, specifically the Logo-test and the NEO five-factor personality inventory. The data that was obtained was analysed in the context of selected personality traits (extraversion, friendliness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, openness to experience); other factors that were observed were differences between the sexes, age, year of study, and form of study. The complementary qualitative processing of the data that was obtained also included free subjective statements about the life stories of 282 of the respondents. Results. The determined level of lived meaningfulness of life was correlated with selected personality variables of the respondents by means of statistical processing. The results of the research show a significant positive link between the degree of lived meaningfulness and the representation of the personality traits of extraversion, friendliness, openness to experience, and conscientiousness. A negative relationship was found between the personality variable of neuroticism and the degree of meaningfulness that was experienced. Conclusions. The results of the survey can be considered very favourable; they convincingly demonstrate a sufficiently meaningful and existentially rooted life for the majority of the respondents from the ranks of future teachers (95.6% of the respondents). A level of experienced meaningfulness which is questionable and thus endangers the further development of the individualʼs personality or the respondent lacks it altogether was only found in a negligible part of the sample (4.4%). In connection with the future profession of the group of people who were observed, in which they will wield a significant influence on the personality of their pupils and students, it can be concluded that our results are pleasing.

• MeSH
• existencialismus psychologie   MeSH
• extraverze (psychologie) MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladý dospělý psychologie   MeSH
• neuroticismus MeSH
• osobnost * klasifikace   MeSH
• osobnostní testy MeSH
• průzkumy a dotazníky MeSH
• studenti psychologie   MeSH
• životní smysluplnost * MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• mladý dospělý psychologie   MeSH

Efficient soil exploration by roots represents an important target for crop improvement and food security [1, 2]. Lateral root (LR) formation is a key trait for optimizing soil foraging for crucial resources such as water and nutrients. Here, we report an adaptive response termed xerobranching, exhibited by cereal roots, that represses branching when root tips are not in contact with wet soil. Non-invasive X-ray microCT imaging revealed that cereal roots rapidly repress LR formation as they enter an air space within a soil profile and are no longer in contact with water. Transcript profiling of cereal root tips revealed that transient water deficit triggers the abscisic acid (ABA) response pathway. In agreement with this, exogenous ABA treatment can mimic repression of LR formation under transient water deficit. Genetic analysis in Arabidopsis revealed that ABA repression of LR formation requires the PYR/PYL/RCAR-dependent signaling pathway. Our findings suggest that ABA acts as the key signal regulating xerobranching. We conclude that this new ABA-dependent adaptive mechanism allows roots to rapidly respond to changes in water availability in their local micro-environment and to use internal resources efficiently.

• MeSH
• adaptace psychologická fyziologie   MeSH
• Arabidopsis genetika   MeSH
• geneticky modifikované rostliny MeSH
• jedlá semena růst a vývoj   metabolismus   MeSH
• kořeny rostlin metabolismus   MeSH
• kyselina abscisová metabolismus   MeSH
• meristém metabolismus   MeSH
• organogeneze rostlin MeSH
• proteiny huseníčku genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• regulace genové exprese u rostlin genetika   MeSH
• regulátory růstu rostlin metabolismus   MeSH
• signální transdukce MeSH
• transkripční faktory metabolismus   MeSH
• voda metabolismus   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

CONTEXT: Yield improvement is an important issue for rice breeding. Panicle architecture is one of the key components of rice yield and exhibits a large diversity. To identify the morphological and genetic determinants of panicle architecture, we performed a detailed phenotypic analysis and a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using an original panel of Vietnamese landraces. RESULTS: Using a newly developed image analysis tool, morphological traits of the panicles were scored over two years: rachis length; primary, secondary and tertiary branch number; average length of primary and secondary branches; average length of internode on rachis and primary branch. We observed a high contribution of spikelet number and secondary branch number per panicle to the overall phenotypic diversity in the dataset. Twenty-nine stable QTLs associated with seven traits were detected through GWAS over the two years. Some of these QTLs were associated with genes already implicated in panicle development. Importantly, the present study revealed the existence of new QTLs associated with the spikelet number, secondary branch number and primary branch number traits. CONCLUSIONS: Our phenotypic analysis of panicle architecture variation suggests that with the panel of samples used, morphological diversity depends largely on the balance between indeterminate vs. determinate axillary meristem fate on primary branches, supporting the notion of differences in axillary meristem fate between rachis and primary branches. Our genome-wide association study led to the identification of numerous genomic sites covering all the traits studied and will be of interest for breeding programs aimed at improving yield. The new QTLs detected in this study provide a basis for the identification of new genes controlling panicle development and yield in rice.

• MeSH
• celogenomová asociační studie * MeSH
• fenotyp MeSH
• genotypizační techniky MeSH
• květy anatomie a histologie   genetika   růst a vývoj   MeSH
• lokus kvantitativního znaku genetika   MeSH
• meristém anatomie a histologie   genetika   růst a vývoj   MeSH
• rýže (rod) anatomie a histologie   genetika   růst a vývoj   MeSH
• šlechtění rostlin MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Background and Aims: The genetic basis of increased rooting below the plough layer, post-anthesis in the field, of an elite wheat line (Triticum aestivum 'Shamrock') with recent introgression from wild emmer (T. dicoccoides), is investigated. Shamrock has a non-glaucous canopy phenotype mapped to the short arm of chromosome 2B (2BS), derived from the wild emmer. A secondary aim was to determine whether genetic effects found in the field could have been predicted by other assessment methods. Methods: Roots of doubled haploid (DH) lines from a winter wheat ('Shamrock' × 'Shango') population were assessed using a seedling screen in moist paper rolls, in rhizotrons to the end of tillering, and in the field post-anthesis. A linkage map was produced using single nucleotide polymorphism markers to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for rooting traits. Key Results: Shamrock had greater root length density (RLD) at depth than Shango, in the field and within the rhizotrons. The DH population exhibited diversity for rooting traits within the three environments studied. QTLs were identified on chromosomes 5D, 6B and 7B, explaining variation in RLD post-anthesis in the field. Effects associated with the non-glaucous trait on RLD interacted significantly with depth in the field, and some of this interaction mapped to 2BS. The effect of genotype was strongly influenced by the method of root assessment, e.g. glaucousness expressed in the field was negatively associated with root length in the rhizotrons, but positively associated with length in the seedling screen. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study to identify QTLs for rooting at depth in field-grown wheat at mature growth stages. Within the population studied here, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that some of the variation in rooting is associated with recent introgression from wild emmer. The expression of genetic effects differed between the methods of root assessment.

• MeSH
• fenotyp MeSH
• genotyp MeSH
• haploidie * MeSH
• kořeny rostlin růst a vývoj   MeSH
• lokus kvantitativního znaku * MeSH
• mapování chromozomů MeSH
• pšenice genetika   růst a vývoj   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Invasiveness of some alien plants is associated with their traits, plastic responses to environmental conditions and interpopulation differentiation. To obtain insights into the role of these processes in contributing to variation in performance, we compared congeneric species of Impatiens (Balsaminaceae) with different origin and invasion status that occur in central Europe. METHODS: Native I. noli-tangere and three alien species (highly invasive I. glandulifera, less invasive I. parviflora and potentially invasive I. capensis) were studied and their responses to simulated canopy shading and different nutrient and moisture levels were determined in terms of survival and seedling traits. KEY RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Impatiens glandulifera produced high biomass in all the treatments and the control, exhibiting the 'Jack-and-master' strategy that makes it a strong competitor from germination onwards. The results suggest that plasticity and differentiation occurred in all the species tested and that along the continuum from plasticity to differentiation, the species at the plasticity end is the better invader. The most invasive species I. glandulifera appears to be highly plastic, whereas the other two less invasive species, I. parviflora and I. capensis, exhibited lower plasticity but rather strong population differentiation. The invasive Impatiens species were taller and exhibited higher plasticity and differentiation than native I. noli-tangere. This suggests that even within one genus, the relative importance of the phenomena contributing to invasiveness appears to be species' specific.

• MeSH
• biomasa MeSH
• druhová specificita MeSH
• fenotyp MeSH
• fyziologická adaptace * MeSH
• Impatiens genetika   růst a vývoj   fyziologie   MeSH
• kořeny rostlin genetika   růst a vývoj   fyziologie   MeSH
• období sucha MeSH
• semenáček genetika   růst a vývoj   fyziologie   MeSH
• stonky rostlin genetika   růst a vývoj   fyziologie   MeSH
• výhonky rostlin genetika   růst a vývoj   fyziologie   MeSH
• záplavy MeSH
• zavlečené druhy * MeSH
• životní prostředí MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Evropa MeSH

Terrestrial plants typically take up nutrients through roots or mycorrhizae while freshwater plants additionally utilize leaves. Their nutrient uptake may be enhanced by root hairs whose occurrence is often negatively correlated with mycorrhizal colonization. Seagrasses utilize both leaves and roots and often form root hairs, but seem to be devoid of mycorrhizae. The Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica is an exception: its adults commonly lack root hairs and regularly form a specific association with a single pleosporalean fungus. Here we show that at two sites in the southern Adriatic, all its seedlings possessed abundant root hairs with peculiar morphology (swollen terminal parts) and anatomy (spirally formed cell walls) as apparent adaptations for better attachment to the substrate and increase of breaking strain. Later on, their roots became colonized by dark septate mycelium while root hairs were reduced. In adults, most of terminal fine roots possessed the specific fungal association while root hairs were absent. These observations indicate for the first time that processes regulating transition from root hairs to root fungal colonization exist also in some seagrasses. This ontogenetic shift in root traits may suggests an involvement of the specific root symbiosis in the nutrient uptake by the dominant Mediterranean seagrass.

• MeSH
• Alismatales anatomie a histologie   růst a vývoj   mikrobiologie   MeSH
• Ascomycota fyziologie   MeSH
• fyziologická adaptace * MeSH
• kořeny rostlin mikrobiologie   MeSH
• listy rostlin MeSH
• mycelium fyziologie   MeSH
• mykorhiza MeSH
• symbióza * MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Středozemní moře MeSH

The tree root-mycorhizosphere plays a key role in resource uptake, but also in the adaptation of forests to changing environments. The adaptive foraging mechanisms of ectomycorrhizal (EcM) and fine roots of Picea abies, Pinus sylvestris and Betula pendula were evaluated along a gradient from temperate to subarctic boreal forest (38 sites between latitudes 48°N and 69°N) in Europe. Variables describing tree resource uptake structures and processes (absorptive fine root biomass and morphology, nitrogen (N) concentration in absorptive roots, extramatrical mycelium (EMM) biomass, community structure of root-associated EcM fungi, soil and rhizosphere bacteria) were used to analyse relationships between root system functional traits and climate, soil and stand characteristics. Absorptive fine root biomass per stand basal area increased significantly from temperate to boreal forests, coinciding with longer and thinner root tips with higher tissue density, smaller EMM biomass per root length and a shift in soil microbial community structure. The soil carbon (C) : N ratio was found to explain most of the variability in absorptive fine root and EMM biomass, root tissue density, N concentration and rhizosphere bacterial community structure. We suggest a concept of absorptive fine root foraging strategies involving both qualitative and quantitative changes in the root-mycorrhiza-bacteria continuum along climate and soil C : N gradients.

• MeSH
• Bacteria metabolismus   MeSH
• biologické modely MeSH
• biomasa MeSH
• bříza mikrobiologie   MeSH
• dusík analýza   MeSH
• fyziologická adaptace * MeSH
• kořeny rostlin anatomie a histologie   mikrobiologie   fyziologie   MeSH
• mycelium fyziologie   MeSH
• mykorhiza fyziologie   MeSH
• půdní mikrobiologie MeSH
• rhizosféra MeSH
• tajga * MeSH
• uhlík analýza   MeSH
• zeměpis MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Evropa MeSH

Zinc (Zn) is an essential element in human nutrition. The concentration of Zn in cereals, which is a staple food in developing countries, is often too low thus contributing to Zn malnutrition in nearly two billion people worldwide. We have reported recently that transgenic barley plants expressing a cytokinin-degrading CYTOKININ OXIDASE/DEHYDROGENASE (CKX) gene in their roots form a larger root system and accumulate a higher concentration of Zn in their grains when grown under greenhouse conditions. Here, we have tested this trait under field conditions. Four independent pEPP:CKX lines accumulated an up to 30% higher Zn concentration in their grains as compared to the untransformed control suggesting that this is a stable trait. The increased Zn concentration exceeded the limit set by the HarvestPlus program for wheat. We, therefore, propose that root enhancement achieved by increased degradation of cytokinin in roots can be a sustainable strategy to combat malnutrition caused by Zn deficiency.

• MeSH
• cytokininy metabolismus   MeSH
• geneticky modifikované rostliny genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• ječmen (rod) genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• jedlá semena genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• kořeny rostlin genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• oxidoreduktasy genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• rostlinné proteiny genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• zinek metabolismus   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH