The root system architecture of wheat establishing in soil is associated with varying elongation rates of seminal roots: quantification using 4D MRI

Abstract

Abstract Seedling establishment is the first stage of crop productivity, and root phenotypes at seed emergence are critical to a successful start of shoot growth as well as for water and nutrient uptake. In this study, we investigate seedling establishment in winter wheat utilizing a newly developed workflow based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Using the eight parents of the NIAB MAGIC (Multi-parent Advanced Generation Inter-Cross) population we analyzed the 4D root architecture of 288 individual seedlings grown in natural soils with plant neighbors over 3 days of development. Time of root and shoot emergence, total length, angle and depth of the axile roots varied significantly among these genotypes. The temporal data resolved rates of elongation of primary roots and first and second seminal root pairs. Genotypes with slow primary roots had fast first and second seminal root pairs and vice versa, resulting in variation in root system architecture mediated not only by root angle but also by initiation and relative elongation of axile roots. We could demonstrate that our novel MRI workflow with a unique planting design and automated measurements allowed medium throughput phenotyping of wheat roots in 4D and could give new insights into regulation of root system architecture.