Wednesday, 30 April 2025
Scientists have discovered, for the first time how root cells respond to their complex soil environment revealing that roots actively sense their microenvironment and mount precise, cell-specific molecular responses. The findings could help the development crops that are resistant to climate stress.
In a study published in Nature, an international team of plant scientists and engineers from the University of Nottingham have worked with teams in the USA and Belgium. The team used cutting-edge spatial and single-cell transcriptomics to compare rice roots grown in conventional gel-based media with those grown in heterogeneous natural soils and hard soils.
One striking discovery involved the hormone abscisic acid (ABA), known for its role in water stress. The study showed ABA helps reinforce waterproofing barriers, reducing water loss from roots and aiding their resilience to hard soils. This insight offers a potential key to engineering crop roots with improved resilience to hard soil conditions.
Soil is the foundation of life on land, producing over 90% of all terrestrial food. Yet, this dynamic ecosystem is far from uniform: it presents a constantly changing mosaic of nutrients, water availability, microbial life, and mechanical challenges. Understanding how root cells sense and respond to soil stresses is vital for future-proofing global food security.
“Seeing genes related to nutrient sensing, water response, and biotic stress light up ONLY in soil-grown roots was awe-inspiring” said first author Mingyuan Zhu of Duke University. “It was a striking moment that made the complexity of root-soil environment interactions feel vividly real.”
This is the first time such cell-resolution expression tools have been applied to roots grown in soil. Understanding root cell-specific responses in a realistic soil environment will pave the way for engineering crops at the cellular level—tailored to work without disrupting critical processes in other root tissues. This breakthrough research exemplifies the power of interdisciplinary collaboration and represents a paradigm shift in plant biology— transforming our ability to study processes in root cells from controlled lab conditions to the much more challenging, but realistic, conditions plants experience in soil. As climate change threatens soil quality and agricultural sustainability, such insights are not just scientifically exciting—they are essential.
The study also showed that the activation of plant response systems is not only regulated by genetic or biochemical process, but one that physically changes the plant’s material properties on a cellular level. In collaboration with the University of Nottingham’s Faculty of Engineering, the team used a new cellular resolution imaging technology called phonon microscopy to map changes in cell wall stiffness for roots grown in stressed and unstressed environments.
We have discovered this incredible capability for plant roots to effectively ‘brace for impact,’ by stiffening their cell walls, when grown in soil that has been compacted. Plants prepare for extreme conditions almost like humans using sandbags to brace for a storm. By better understanding the material properties of plants we can help engineer plants with enhanced physical attributes that are better suited for our changing environment.
The study also stands as a heartfelt tribute to the late Professor Philip Benfey, a key collaborator whose visionary ideas and approaches helped shape and launch this project. Professor Malcolm Bennett from the University of Nottingham has led this area of research and worked with Professor Benfey and commented: “Philip was very passionate about this area of research and the innovative techniques being pioneered,” said. “We are proud to have helped bring his dream to reality.”
Story credits
More information is available from Dr Bipin Pandey on Bipin.Pandey@nottingham.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 24 in Europe and 15th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the third most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2024 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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