Temperature changes in the root ecosystem affect plant functionality

Climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme heat events that aggravate its negative impact on plant development and agricultural yield. Most experiments designed to study plant adaption to heat stress apply homogeneous high temperatures to both shoot and root. However, this treatment does not mimic the conditions in natural fields, where roots grow in a dark environment with a descending temperature gradient. Excessively high temperatures severely decrease cell division in the root meristem, compromising root growth, while increasing the division of quiescent center cells, likely in an attempt to maintain the stem cell niche under such harsh conditions. Here, we engineered the TGRooZ, a device that generates a temper-ature gradient for in vitro or greenhouse growth assays. The root systems of plants exposed to high shoot temperatures but cultivated in the TGRooZ grow efficiently and maintain their functionality to sustain proper shoot growth and development. Furthermore, gene expression and rhizosphere or root microbiome compo-sition are significantly less affected in TGRooZ-grown roots than in high-temperature-grown roots, corre-lating with higher root functionality. Our data indicate that use of the TGRooZ in heat-stress studies can improve our knowledge of plant response to high temperatures, demonstrating its applicability from laboratory studies to the field.

Automated summary

Climate change aggravates the negative impact on plant development and agricultural yield through increasing the frequency of extreme heat events. However, most experiments on plant adaption to heat stress do not mimic the natural growth conditions of roots. Researchers have developed a device called TGRooZ that generates a temperature gradient, which improves the growth and functionality of plant root systems exposed to high shoot temperatures. The use of TGRooZ in heat-stress studies can enhance our understanding of plant response to high temperatures, both in the laboratory and in the field.