ArticleAnnals of botany2013
Determinate primary root growth as an adaptation to aridity in Cactaceae: towards an understanding of the evolution and genetic control of the trait.
Article in Annals of botany, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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17 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Shoot apical meristem morphoanatomy of the Mexican cactus Mammillaria san-angelensis and its significance for evolutionary developmental biology.Annals of botany · 2026Article
- Contrasting reproductive strategies and their functional consequences in two populations of Opuntia robusta (Cactaceae).BMC plant biology · 2026Article
- Climate change drives convergent evolution of root traits on Sky Island climate relicts.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Unearthing the hidden organ: vital role of the root in drought tolerance of plants.Plant molecular biology · 2025Review
- Oaks drought-induced responses under root types: gene and microRNA cooperation.BMC plant biology · 2025Article
- 'More tight-less tight' Patterns in the Climatic Niche Evolution of Gymnocalycium (Cactaceae): Were Pleistocene Glaciations a Prelude?PloS one · 2025Article
- A computational Evo-Devo approach for elucidating the roles of PLETHORA transcription factors in regulating root development.PloS one · 2025Article
- Rooting for survival: how plants tackle a challenging environment through a diversity of root forms and functions.Plant physiology · 2024Review
- Global change impacts on cacti (Cactaceae): current threats, challenges and conservation solutions.Annals of botany · 2023Review
- Editorial: Root development: Towards understanding regulatory networks and complex interactions between cell populations.Frontiers in plant science · 2022Article
- Review
- Formation and Development of Taproots in Deciduous Tree Species.Frontiers in plant science · 2021Review
- Growth Patterns in Seedling Roots of the Pincushion CactusFrontiers in plant science · 2021Article
- Root Growth Adaptation to Climate Change in Crops.Frontiers in plant science · 2020Review
- Transcriptomics insights into the genetic regulation of root apical meristem exhaustion and determinate primary root growth in Pachycereus pringlei (Cactaceae).Scientific reports · 2018Article
- Casparian bands and suberin lamellae in exodermis of lateral roots: an important trait of roots system response to abiotic stress factors.Annals of botany · 2017Article
- Matching roots to their environment.Annals of botany · 2013Article
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8 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsSpecies of Cactaceae are well adapted to arid habitats. Determinate growth of the primary root, which involves early and complete root apical meristem (RAM) exhaustion and differentiation of cells at the root tip, has been reported for some Cactoideae species as a root adaptation to aridity. In this study, the primary root growth patterns of Cactaceae taxa from diverse habitats are classified as being determinate or indeterminate, and the molecular mechanisms underlying RAM maintenance in Cactaceae are explored. Genes that were induced in the primary root of Stenocereus gummosus before RAM exhaustion are identified.
methodsPrimary root growth was analysed in Cactaceae seedlings cultivated in vertically oriented Petri dishes. Differentially expressed transcripts were identified after reverse northern blots of clones from a suppression subtractive hybridization cDNA library. KEY
resultsAll species analysed from six tribes of the Cactoideae subfamily that inhabit arid and semi-arid regions exhibited determinate primary root growth. However, species from the Hylocereeae tribe, which inhabit mesic regions, exhibited mostly indeterminate primary root growth. Preliminary results suggest that seedlings of members of the Opuntioideae subfamily have mostly determinate primary root growth, whereas those of the Maihuenioideae and Pereskioideae subfamilies have mostly indeterminate primary root growth. Seven selected transcripts encoding homologues of heat stress transcription factor B4, histone deacetylase, fibrillarin, phosphoethanolamine methyltransferase, cytochrome P450 and gibberellin-regulated protein were upregulated in S. gummosus root tips during the initial growth phase.
conclusionsPrimary root growth in Cactoideae species matches their environment. The data imply that determinate growth of the primary root became fixed after separation of the Cactiodeae/Opuntioideae and Maihuenioideae/Pereskioideae lineages, and that the genetic regulation of RAM maintenance and its loss in Cactaceae is orchestrated by genes involved in the regulation of gene expression, signalling, and redox and hormonal responses.
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