Agar gel phenotyping of root traits as rapid and sensitive assay of wheat seedlings response to edaphic factors: on example of cadmium

Abstract

The influence of different concentrations of cadmium on root elongation, exudative activity of roots and seminal root angle of two wheat genotypes: common bread wheat – Triticum aestivum L. (cv. 'Favorytka') and emmer wheat – Triticum dicoccum Schrank. (cv. 'Holikovska') have been studied in the germination stage. Rapid changes in morphofunctional traits upon first three days of exposure to cadmium on early stages of growth have been studied on phenotyping plates with 25, 50 and 100 µM addition to agar-acid/base indicator medium. Significant inhibition of root elongation, exudative root activity and changes in seminal root angle were observed. Exposure to the highest Cd concentration led to a decrease in primal root length by 50%, decrease in root exudative activity by 88% and decrease in seminal root angle by 24 degrees in T. aestivum compared to a decrease by 12%, 83% and 17 degrees in T. dicoccum. Unlike root growth retardation, a decrease in exudative activity was observed on all three Cd concentrations. The root growth performance at starting stage of seedlings ontogenesis proposed as an express and sensitive phenotyping test method for determining plant response to edaphic stressors by cadmium toxicity example.

Keywords

• root phenotyping
• seminal root angle
• exudative activity
• cadmium toxicity
• triticum aestivum
• triticum dicoccum