Boron plays a central role in the growth and fertility of many plants, but extreme weather events such as drought or flooding are making it increasingly difficult for plants to absorb. An international research team led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and involving the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) has now investigated how plants respond to the changing availability of the micronutrient boron.

Boron-efficient plants adapt their root systems

To this end, the researchers analysed 185 genetic variants of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and identified seven subgroups that are particularly boron-efficient and grow well even with low nutrient levels. ‘Each of these plants may have developed different strategies to cope well with boron deficiency,’ explains Patrick Bienert, Professor of Crop Physiology at TUM. What was particularly striking here was a common adaptation in root architecture, as the team writes in the journal New Phytologist: the boron-efficient plants formed long, sideways-growing roots, which expanded their search radius in the soil to better detect nutrients: the plants specifically search for nutrients.

Genes for boron efficiency identified

The team also succeeded in identifying gene regions responsible for the efficient use and uptake of boron in roots and shoots. These findings could help breed plants that are more resistant to nutrient fluctuations in the future.

Applying findings to rapeseed

Based on these results, attention is now turning to the important crop plant rapeseed. Since rapeseed is closely related to Arabidopsis, the researchers hope to be able to quickly apply their new findings. ‘We want to find particularly efficient rapeseed individuals, identify their strategies and then breed these traits into lines that deliver high yields. This could result in plants that are both high-yielding and more climate-resilient,’ explains Bienert.

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