Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Assessing variability in root traits of wild Lupinus angustifolius germplasm: basis for modelling root system structure

  • Regular Article
  • Published:
Plant and Soil Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background and aims

Intra-specific variation in root system architecture and consequent efficiency of resource capture by major crops has received recent attention. The aim of this study was to assess variability in a number of root traits among wild genotypes of narrow-leafed lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.), to provide a basis for modelling of root structure.

Methods

A subset of 111 genotypes of L. angustifolius was selected from a large germplasm pool based on similarity matrices calculated using Diversity Array Technology markers. Plants were grown for 6 weeks in the established semi-hydroponic phenotyping systems to measure the fine-scale features of the root systems.

Results

Root morphology of wild L. angustifolius was primarily dominated by the taproot and first-order branches, with the presence of densely or sparsely distributed second-order branches in the late growth stage. Large variation in most root traits was identified among the tested genotypes. Total root length, branch length and branch number in the entire root system and in the upper roots were the most varied traits (coefficient of variation CV >0.50). Over 94% of the root system architectural variation determined from the principal components analysis was captured by six components (eigenvalue >1). Five relatively homogeneous groups of genotypes with distinguished patterns of root architecture were separated by k-means clustering analysis.

Conclusions

Variability in the fine-scale features of root systems such as branching behaviour and taproot growth rates provides a basis for modelling root system structure, which is a promising path for selecting desirable root traits in breeding and domestication of wild and exotic resources of L. angustifolius for stressful or poor soil environments.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ao J, Fu AJ, Tian J, Yan X, Liao H (2010) Genetic variability for root morph-architecture traits and root growth dynamics as related to phosphorus efficiency in soybean. Funct Plant Biol 37:304–312

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berger JD, Adhikari KN, Wilkinson D, Buirchell BJ, Sweetingham MW (2008) Ecogeography of the Old World lupins 1 ecotypic variation in yellow lupin (Lupinus luteus L). Aust J Agric Res 59:691–701

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bishop A, Delane R, Hamblin J (1986) Root characteristics in branching and reduced branching lupins. In: Proceedings of 4th International Lupin Conference, 15–22 August, 1986. Geraldton, Western Australian. International Lupin Association, Canterbury, New Zealand, pp. 313

  • Buirchell BJ (2008) Narrow-leafed lupin breeding in Australia–Where to from here? In: Palta JA, Berger JB (eds) Lupins for Health and Wealth–Proceedings of the 12th International Lupin Conference. 14–18 Sept. 2008, Fremantle, Western Australia. International Lupin Association, Canterbury, pp 226–230

    Google Scholar 

  • Byrne F, Robertson MJ, Bathgate A, Hoque Z (2010) Factors influencing potential scale of adoption of a perennial pasture in a mixed crop-livestock farming system. Agric Syst 103:453–462

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casson SA, Lindsey K (2003) Genes and signalling in root development. New Phytol 158:11–38

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen YL, Dunbabin VM, Diggle AJ, Siddique KHM, Rengel Z (2011a) Development of a novel semi-hydroponic phenotyping system for studying root architecture. Funct Plant Biol 38:355–363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen YL, Dunbabin VM, Postma J, Diggle AJ, Lynch JP, Siddique KHM, Rengel Z (2011b) Phenotypic variation and modelling of wild Lupinus angustifolius germplasm. Plant Soil 348:345–364. doi:10.1007/s11104-011-0939-z

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Clements JC, Cowling WA (1994) Patterns of morphological diversity in relation to geographical origins of wild Lupinus angustifolius from the Aegean region. Gen Resour Crop Evol 41:109–122

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clements JC, White PF, Buirchell BJ (1993) The root morphology of Lupinus angustifolius in relation to other Lupinus species. Aust J Agric Res 44:1367–1375

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Comas LH, Eissenstat DE (2009) Patterns in root trait variation among 25 co-existing North American forest species. New Phytol 182:919–928

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • de Dorlodot S, Forster B, Pagès L, Price A, Tuberosa R, Draye X (2007) Root system architecture, opportunities and constraints for genetic improvement of crops. Trends Plant Sci 12:474–481

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Diggle AJ (1988) ROOTMAP—a model in three-dimensional co-ordinates of the growth and structure of fibrous root systems. Plant Soil 105:169–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dracup M, Thomson B (2000) Narrow-leafed lupins with restricted branching. Ann Bot 85:29–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunbabin VM (2007) Simulating the role of rooting traits in crop–weed competition. Field Crop Res 104:44–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunbabin VM, Rengel Z, Diggle A (2001) Lupinus angustifolius has a plastic uptake response to heterogeneously supplied nitrate while Lupinus pilosus does not. Aust J Agric Res 52:505–512

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dunbabin VM, Diggle AJ, Rengel Z, van Hugten R (2002) Modelling the interactions between water and nutrient uptake and root growth. Plant Soil 239:19–38

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dunbabin VM, Diggle AJ, Rengel Z (2003) Is there an optimal root architecture for nitrate capture in leaching environments? Plant Cell Environ 26:835–844

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eissenstat DM, Wells CE, Yanai RD, Whitbeck JL (2000) Building roots in a changing environment, implications for root longevity. New Phytol 147:33–42

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Giuliani S, Sanguineti MC, Tuberosa R, Bellotti M, Salvi S, Laudi P (2005) Root-ABA1, a major constitutive QTL, affects maize root architecture and leaf ABA concentration at different water regimes. J Exp Bot 56:3061–3070

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gladstones JS (1974) Lupins of the Mediterranean region and Africa. West Aust Depart Agr Tech Bull 26:1–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Gregory PJ, Bengough AG, Grinev D, Schmidt S, Thomas WTB, Wojciechowski T, Young IM (2009) Root phenomics of crops, opportunities and challenges. Funct Plant Biol 36:922–929

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hammer GL, Dong Z, McLean G, Doherty A, Messina C, Schussler J, Zinselmeier C, Paszkiewicz S, Cooper M (2009) Can changes in canopy and/or root system architecture explain historical maize yield trends in the US corn belt? Crop Sci 49:299–312

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodge A (2010) Roots, the acquisition of water and nutrients from the heterogeneous soil environment. Prog Bot 71:307–337

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodge A, Berta G, Doussan C, Merchan F, Crespi M (2009) Plant root growth, architecture and function. Plant Soil 321:153–187

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Horii H, Nemoto K, Miyamoto N, Harada J (2005) Quantitative trait loci for adventitious and lateral roots in rice. Plant Breed 125:198–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jolliffe IT (2002) Principal component analysis, 2nd edn. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • López-Bucio J, Cruz-Ramírez A, Herrera-Estrella L (2003) The role of nutrient availability in regulating root architecture. Curr Opin Plant Biol 6:280–287

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lynch J (1995) Root architecture and plant productivity. Plant Physiol 109:7–13

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lynch JP, Brown KM (2001) Topsoil foraging—an architectural adaptation of plants to low phosphorus availability. Plant Soil 237:225–237

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lynch J, Nielsen K, Davis R, Jablokow A (1997) Simroot, modeling and visualization of botanical root systems. Plant Soil 188:139–151

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Manschadi AM, Hammer GL, Christopher JT, de Voil P (2008) Genotypic variation in seedling root architectural traits and implications for drought adaptation in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Plant Soil 303:115–129

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Manske GGB, Ortiz-Monasterio JI, Ginkel MV, González RM, Rajaram S, Molina E, Vlek PLG (2000) Traits associated with improved P-uptake efficiency in CIMMYT’s semi-dwarf spring bread wheat grown on an acid Andisol in Mexico. Plant Soil 221:189–204

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Merrill SD, Tanaka DL, Hanson JD (2002) Root length growth of eight crop species in Haplustoll soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 63:913–923

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson MN, Moolhuijzen PM, Boersma JG, Chudy M, Lesniewska K, Bellgard M, Oliver RP, Swiecicki W, Wolko B, Cowling WA, Ellwood SR (2010) Aligning a new reference genetic map of Lupinus angustifolius with the genome sequence of the model legume, Lotus japonicus. DNA Res 17:73–83

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nibau C, Gibbs DJ, Coates JC (2008) Branching out in new directions, the control of root architecture by lateral root formation. New Phytol 179:595–614

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen KL, Lynch JP, Weiss HN (1997) Fractal geometry of bean root systems, correlations between spatial and fractal dimension. Am J Bot 84:26–33

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen KL, Eshel A, Lynch JP (2001) The effect of phosphorus availability on the carbon economy of contrasting common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) genotypes. J Exp Biol 52:329–339

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ostonen I, Püttsepp Ü, Biel C, Alberton O, Bakker MR, Lõhmus K, Majdi H, Metcalfe D, Olsthoorn AFM, Pronk A, Vanguelova E, Weih M, Brunner I (2007) Specific root length as an indicator of environmental change. Plant Biosystems 141:426–442

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palta JA, Berger JD, Ludwig C (2008) The growth and yield of narrow leafed lupin, myths and realities. In: Palta JA, Berger JB (eds) Lupins for Health and Wealth - Proceedings of the 12th International Lupin Conference, 14–18 September, 2008, Fremantle, Western Australia. International Lupin Association, Canterbury, pp 20–25

    Google Scholar 

  • Probert ME, Dimes JP, Keating BA, Dalal RC, Strong WM (1998) APSIM’s water and nitrogen modules and simulation of the dynamics of water and nitrogen in fallow systems. Agr Syst 56:1–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rengel Z, Damon PM (2008) Crops and genotypes differ in efficiency of potassium uptake and use. Physiol Plant 133:624–636

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Römer W, Kang DK, Egle K, Gerke J, Keller H (2000) The acquisition of cadmium by Lupinus albus L., Lupinus angustifolius L., and Lolium multiflorum Lam. J Plant Nutr Soil Sc 163:623–628

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rose CW, Chichester FW, Williams JR, Ritchie JT (1982) A contribution to simplified models of field solute transport. J Environ Qual 11:146–150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rose TJ, Rengel Z, Ma Q, Bowden JW (2009) Crop species differ in root plasticity response to localised P supply. J Plant Nutr Soil Sc 172:360–368

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sergeeva LI, Keurentjes JJB, Bentsink L, Vonk J, van der Plas LHW, Koornneef M, Vreugdenhil D (2006) Vacuolar invertase regulates elongation of Arabidopsis thaliana roots as revealed by QTL and mutant analysis. Proc Natl Acad Sc U S A 103:2994–2999

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Steele KA, Virk DS, Kumar R, Prasad SC, Witcombe JR (2007) Field evaluation of upland rice lines selected for QTLs controlling root traits. Field Crop Res 101:180–186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tabachnik BG, Fidell LS (1996) Using multivariate statistics. Harper Collins, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Tang C, Robson AD (1998) Correlation between soil pH of collection site and the tolerance of wild genotypes of Lupinus angustifolius L. to neutral pH. Aust J Exp Agric 38:355–362

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walk TC, Jaramillo P, Lynch JP (2006) Architectural tradeoffs between adventitious and basal roots for phosphorus acquisition. Plant Soil 279:347–366

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Weih M, Rönnberg-Wästljung A, Glynn C (2006) Genetic basis of phenotypic correlations among growth traits in hybrid willow (Salix dasyclados × S. viminalis) grown under two water regimes. New Phytol 170:467–477

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan H, Yan G, Siddique KHM, Yang H (2005) RAMP based fingerprinting and assessment of relationships among Australian narrow-leafed lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.) cultivars. Aust J Agric Res 56:1339–1346

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu J, Zhang C, Lynch JP (2010) The utility of phenotypic plasticity of root hair length for phosphorus acquisition. Funct Plant Biol 37:313–322

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The Australian Research Council (ARC) provided funding for this research. We acknowledge J. Clements from The University of Western Australia, and the Department of Agriculture and Food of Western Australia, for providing lupin seed and advice for this work. We are grateful to J.P. Lynch of Pennsylvania State University for critical comments on a draft, and M. Renton for an initial discussion on the use of R program.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, School of Earth and Environment (M087), The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Ying Long Chen & Zed Rengel

  2. The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia (M082), 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Ying Long Chen, Kadambot H. M. Siddique & Zed Rengel

  3. Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research, The University of Tasmania, Private Bag 54, Hobart, TAS, 7000, Australia

    Vanessa M. Dunbabin

  4. The Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia, Locked Bag 4, Bentley, WA, 6983, Australia

    Art J. Diggle

Authors
  1. Ying Long Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Vanessa M. Dunbabin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Art J. Diggle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Kadambot H. M. Siddique
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Zed Rengel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Ying Long Chen or Zed Rengel.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Alain Pierret.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Chen, Y.L., Dunbabin, V.M., Diggle, A.J. et al. Assessing variability in root traits of wild Lupinus angustifolius germplasm: basis for modelling root system structure. Plant Soil 354, 141–155 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-1050-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-1050-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation