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AOBPreview originally published online on December 13, 2005
Annals of Botany 2006 97(5):857-866; doi:10.1093/aob/mcj603
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© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

The Response of Spartium junceum Roots to Slope: Anchorage and Gene Factors

GABRIELLA STEFANIA SCIPPA1,*, MICHELA DI MICHELE1, ANTONINO DI IORIO2, ANTONELLO COSTA3, BRUNO LASSERRE1 and DONATO CHIATANTE2

1 Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie per l'Ambiente ed il Territorio, Università degli Studi del Molise, Via Mazzini 8, 86170 Isernia, Italy, 2 Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche ed Ambientali, Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, Via Valleggio 11, 22100 Como, Italy and 3 Institute of Plant Genetics, CNR, Via Università 133, 80055 Portici, Italy

* For correspondence. E-mail scippa{at}unimol.it

Received: 18 August 2005    Returned for revision: 12 September 2005    Accepted: 7 October 2005    Published electronically: 13 December 2005

• Background and Aims Plant anchorage is governed by complex, finely regulated mechanisms that occur at a morphological, architectural and anatomical level. Spanish broom (Spartium junceum) is a woody plant frequently found on slopes—a condition that affects plant anchorage. This plant grows throughout the Mediterranean area where it plays an important role in preventing landslides. Spanish broom seedlings respond promptly to slope by altering stem and root morphology. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanisms whereby the root system of Spanish broom seedlings adapts to ensure anchorage to the ground.

• Methods Seedlings were grown in tilted and untilted pots under controlled conditions. The root apparatus was removed at different times of growth and subjected to morphological, biomechanical and molecular analyses.

• Key Results In slope-grown seedlings, changes in root system morphology, pulling strength and chemical lignin content, all features related to plant anchorage in the soil, were related to seedling age. cDNA-AFLP analysis revealed changes in the expression of several genes in root systems of slope-grown plants. BLAST analysis showed that some differentially expressed genes are homologues of genes induced by environmental stresses in other plant species, and/or are involved in the production of strengthening materials.

• Conclusion Plants use various mechanisms/strategies to respond to slope depending on their developmental stage.

Key words: Anchorage, cDNA-AFLP, lignin, pulling, root morphology, root, slope, Spartium junceum


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