The Root Impact of Climate Change

infozine.com (Kansas City)
Wednesday, September 22, 2010

MU researchers go underground to study how plant roots respond to climate change
Columbia, MO - infoZine - When people discuss climate change, they usually think of impacts above ground, such as atmospheric changes, rising ocean levels, or melting glaciers. Less attention is paid to the effects right under their feet. Now, with the help of a $1.2 million grant from the federal Plant Feedstock Genomics for Bioenergy program, University of Missouri researchers are peering underground to see how climate change affects plant roots.

“Water availability and soil temperature can influence root growth, root length and extension, and initiation of new lateral roots and root hairs, which ultimately impact the productivity of the entire plant,” said Gary Stacey, professor of plant sciences and member of the Interdisciplinary Plant Group in the MU Bond Life Sciences Center. “When we include the effects of plant genetic diversity in these responses, the full complexity of the impacts of climate change on the plant root environment becomes clear.”

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