NaCl salinity affects lateral root development in Plantago maritima
Michael Rubinigg A , Julia Wenisch B , J. Theo M. Elzenga A and Ineke Stulen A CA University of Groningen, Laboratory of Plant Physiology, PO Box 14, 9750 AA Haren, The Netherlands.
B University of Nijmegen, Section of Experimental Plant Ecology, Department of Ecology, Toernooiveld 1, 6525 ED Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
C Corresponding author; email: g.stulen@biol.rug.nl
Functional Plant Biology 31(8) 775-780 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP03222
Submitted: 9 November 2003 Accepted: 25 May 2004 Published: 23 August 2004
Abstract
Root growth and morphology were assessed weekly in hydroponically-grown seedlings of the halophyte Plantago maritima L. during exposure to 0, 50, 100 and 200 mm NaCl for 21 d. Relative growth rate was reduced by 25% at 200 mm NaCl. The lower NaCl treatments did not affect relative growth rates. Primary and lateral roots responded differently to NaCl. While primary-root length increased at all NaCl concentrations, total lateral-root length increased at 50 and was not affected at 100 mm but was considerably reduced at 200 mm NaCl. NaCl concentrations of 50 and 100 mm, which had no effect on relative growth rate or total lateral-root length, severely affected root branching pattern in that the number of first, second and third order laterals was reduced. At 200 mm NaCl third order laterals were not formed at all. However, mean lateral-root length was increased at all NaCl concentrations and was highest at 200 mm NaCl. We conclude that the increase in total lateral-root length in plants at 50 and 100 mm NaCl was mainly caused by increased length growth, while the decrease in total lateral-root length at 200 mm was the consequence of inhibition of lateral root primordia and / or the activation of apical meristems rather than reduced length growth.
Keywords: lateral roots, Plantago maritima, relative growth rate, root length, root morphology, salinity.
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