The mystery of root exudation – new insights into ecologically significant root exudation sampling -PI Eva Oburger
Abstract
Root exudates are key drivers for rhizosphere spatiotemporal self-organization. Accurate information about quantity and quality of metabolites released by roots plays a central role in deciphering the complex biogeochemical processes at the plant-soil interface and their feedback loops. In the past, the majority of studies either treated exudation as a black box or studied root exudation in nutrient solution culture (i.e. hydroponic), mostly analyzing only individual exudate compounds or compound classes. Despite the operational benefit of hydroponics, the question remains how ecologically relevant exudation results obtained under hydroponic conditions are compared to soil environments and related rhizosphere processes. Here, we will apply different exudation sampling schemes to (i) uncover the spatiotemporal changes of and (ii) reveal the role of root hairs in maize (Zea mays wildtype and root hair-less mutant rht3) root exudation. Unlike studies in the past, we will focus on soil-based techniques that allow the collection root exudation rates unaltered by soil matrix interactions and microbial activity and capture the entire complexity of exudates released via advanced metabolite profiling by UHPLC-QTOF-MS. Exudation sampling will be carried out within the central platform experimental framework of the priority program 2089 in the growth chamber and field, including soil-hydroponic-hybrid approaches, rhizoboxes combined with an innovative root exudation collecting tool, as well as custom-designed exudation traps for sampling individual root segments. The traditional hydroponic-only setup will also be included as a reference to former studies. Experiments will be closely coordinated with other participants focusing on rhizosphere microbiology and plant genetics, which will enable us to link rhizosphere patterns to specific metabolite profiles released. In addition, we will conduct pioneer work revealing potential biases introduced by experimental conditions thus leading to a paradigm shift in approaches to assess root exudation rates and study exudate-driven processes in the rhizosphere. By identifying and applying ecologically meaningful root exudation sampling techniques in combination with advanced metabolomics analysis, we will elucidate ‘the missing link’ driving plant-soil-microbe interactions and rhizosphere pattern formation.
rhizosphere root exudates roots soil solution organic acids
Publikationen
Project staff
Eva Oburger
Priv.-Doz. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Eva Oburger
eva.oburger@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-91163
Project Leader
03.01.2019 - 31.12.2022
Markus Puschenreiter
Priv.-Doz. Dr. Markus Puschenreiter
markus.puschenreiter@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-91143, 91163
Project Leader
01.09.2018 - 02.01.2019
Stephan Hann
Univ.Prof. Dr. Stephan Hann
stephan.hann@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-77001, 77191
Project Staff
01.09.2018 - 31.12.2022
Christina Hummel
Dipl.-Ing. Christina Hummel
christina.hummel@boku.ac.at
Project Staff
01.02.2021 - 31.08.2021
Michael Santangeli
Michael Santangeli MSc.
michael.santangeli@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-91162
Project Staff
01.09.2018 - 31.12.2022
Alice Tognacchini
Dr. Alice Tognacchini MSc.
alice.tognacchini@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-91162
Project Staff
01.01.2019 - 31.12.2022