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JXB Advance Access originally published online on January 31, 2006
Journal of Experimental Botany 2006 57(4):815-826; doi:10.1093/jxb/erj059
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© The Author [2006]. Published by Oxford University Press [on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology]. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

RESEARCH PAPER

How periodic growth pattern and source/sink relations affect root growth in oak tree seedlings

Magali Willaume and Loïc Pagès*

INRA, Unité Plantes et Systèmes de culture Horticoles (PSH), Domaine St-Paul, site Agroparc, F-84914 Avignon Cedex 9, France

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: Loic.Pages{at}avignon.inra.fr

Seedlings of Quercus pubescens were grown in root boxes to study the growth pattern of the root system in relation to shoot development. Shoot growth was typically rhythmic. Root elongation was also periodic, in contrast to several previous reports on other Quercus species. Both taproot and lateral root elongation were depressed during expansion of the second leaf flush, with a more pronounced response of lateral root growth. Apical diameter of the taproot followed comparable but less prominent trends than taproot elongation. Modifying source/sink relationships through various defoliation treatments altered the root growth pattern. Ablation of source organs (mature leaves or cotyledons) amplified the decrease in root growth concomitant with leaf expansion. Root growth recovery was even more difficult when both cotyledons and mature leaves had been removed. Ablation of sink aerial organs (young leaves) initially suppressed competition for growth between the shoot and the root, and then caused a gradual decrease in lateral root growth. Antagonism between maximum leaf expansion and root growth reduction during the second flush, and various responses of seedlings with modified source/sink relationships, raise an hypothesis of mutual competition for carbohydrates. The gradual decrease in lateral root growth after ablation of young leaves suggests a long-term carbohydrate limitation, or auxin limitation as auxin sources have been removed.

Key words: Ablation, apical diameter, defoliation, lateral roots, Quercus pubescens, rhythmic growth, root box, taproot


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[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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