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Sensing soil oxygen
Author(s) -
DREW M. C.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
plant, cell and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 200
eISSN - 1365-3040
pISSN - 0140-7791
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3040.1990.tb01083.x
Subject(s) - shoot , oxygen , botany , atmosphere (unit) , chemistry , environmental chemistry , biology , meteorology , physics , organic chemistry
. Under natural conditions where gaseous exchange between soil and atmosphere is restricted by excess water, the concentration of O 2 in the rooting zone can become very low while reduced ions and organic compounds that are potentially phytoxic may accumulate. Mechanisms by which shoots and roots detect, and adjust to, this O 2 ‐deficient environment are reviewed. Injury to roots and their inability to function because of insufficient O 2 is communicated to the shoot in a variety of ways, so that it adjusts physiologically. Roots may acclimate metabolically to a gradual fall in O 2 supply, so that they either improve their tolerance of anoxia, or partially avoid O 2 ‐deficiency by structural changes that aid internal transfer of O 2 to the roots from the shoot. Molecular mechanisms regulating such metabolic changes, including environmental cues, are discussed.