Nature and nurture: the importance of seed phosphorus content

作者：White Philip J^*; Veneklaas Erik J

来源：Plant and Soil, 2012, 357(1-2): 1-8.

DOI：10.1007/s11104-012-1128-4

• Arabidopsis
• Germination
• Maize (Zea mays)
• Mineral nutrition
• Phosphorus use efficiency (PUE)
• Sucrose
• Seed
• Wheat (Triticum aestivum)

Low phytoavailability of phosphorus (P) limits crop production worldwide. Increasing seed P content can improve plant establishment and increase yields. This is thought to be a consequence of faster initial root growth, which gives seedlings earlier access to growth-limiting resources, such as water and mineral elements. It can be calculated that seed P reserves can sustain maximal growth of cereal seedlings for several weeks after germination, until the plant has three or more leaves and an extensive root system. %26lt;br%26gt;In this issue of Plant and Soil, Muhammad Nadeem and colleagues report (1) that measurable P uptake by roots of maize seedlings begins about 5 d after germination, (2) that the commencement of root P uptake is coincident with the transition from carbon heterotrophy to carbon autotrophy, and (3) that neither the timing nor the rate of uptake of exogenous P by the developing root system is influenced by initial seed P content. %26lt;br%26gt;Here it is hypothesised that the delay in P acquisition by roots of maize seedlings might be explained if the expression of genes encoding phosphate transporters is not upregulated either (1) because the plant has sufficient P for growth or (2) because a systemic signal from the shoot, which relies on photosynthesis or phloem development, is not produced, translocated or perceived.

• 出版日期2012-8