ReviewFrontiers in plant science2020
Should Root Plasticity Be a Crop Breeding Target?
Review in Frontiers in plant science, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 86 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
86 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A systematic review to identify target genes that modulate root system architecture in response to abiotic stress.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- Breeding for Resilient Cereals: Integrating Molecular Networks and Trait-Based Selection to Improve Nitrogen and Water Use Efficiencies.Plant, cell & environment · 2026Review
- An introduction to the fundamentals of root systems research in cultivated plants.Annals of botany · 2026Review
- Water Regime Determines Dose-Dependent Growth and Biomass Allocation Responses of Soybean Seedlings toPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Deep soil layers show the most pronounced genetic variation in wheat root length.Plant methods · 2026Article
- Evaluation of combined root exudate and rhizosphere microbiota sampling approaches to elucidate plant-soil-microbe interactions.The New phytologist · 2026Article
- The Promise of Synthetic Biology for Redesigning Plant Architecture.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Hooked hairs: A cellular key adaptation aiding seedling survival in nutrient-limited and drought conditions.Science advances · 2026Article
- Root anatomical gradients and cultivar differences underlie variation in root hydraulic properties in German winter wheat.Journal of experimental botany · 2026Article
- Phenotypic Plasticity inEcology and evolution · 2026Article
- Molecular and Genetic Regulation of Crop Root System Architecture in Drought Resilience.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Diversity of Root System Architecture in Mediterranean Maize Inbred Lines Provides New Breeding Opportunities to Improve Stress Resilience and Resource Efficiency.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Bacillus seed coating mitigates early growth reduction in successive winter wheat without altering rhizosphere bacterial and archaeal communities.BMC plant biology · 2026Article
- Unveiling the Genomic Architecture of Phenotypic Plasticity Using Multiple GWAS Approaches Under Contrasting Conditions of Water Availability: A Model for Barley.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- From rhizome diffusion to programmable architecture: a systems framework for controllable spatial expansion in bamboo and other clonal plants.Frontiers in plant science · 2026Review
- Deep rooting in bread wheat is more strongly associated with genotypes than drought stress: evidence from Van Lake Basin genotypes.Frontiers in plant science · 2026Article
- Breeding effects on the root-associated microbiome ofISME communications · 2026Article
- Beyond efficiency: The multi-scale architecture of robust water transport in plants.Quantitative plant biology · 2026Review
- Integrated single cell transcriptomics analysis for unraveling heterogeneity and plasticity of root cells for sustainable and regenerative agriculture.Frontiers in plant science · 2026Review
- Genetic Basis of Nitrogen-Deficiency-Induced Root Cortical Aerenchyma in Maize Revealed by GWAS and Transcriptome Analysis.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
26 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Root phenotypic plasticity has been proposed as a target for the development of more productive crops in variable environments. However, the plasticity of root anatomical and architectural responses to environmental cues is highly complex, and the consequences of these responses for plant fitness are poorly understood. We propose that root phenotypic plasticity may be beneficial in natural or low-input systems in which the availability of soil resources is spatiotemporally dynamic. Crop ancestors and landraces were selected with multiple stresses, competition, significant root loss and heterogenous resource distribution which favored plasticity in response to resource availability. However, in high-input agroecosystems, the value of phenotypic plasticity is unclear, since human management has removed many of these constraints to root function. Further research is needed to understand the fitness landscape of plastic responses including understanding the value of plasticity in different environments, environmental signals that induce plastic responses, and the genetic architecture of plasticity before it is widely adopted in breeding programs. Phenotypic plasticity has many potential ecological, and physiological benefits, but its costs and adaptive value in high-input agricultural systems is poorly understood and merits further research.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.