AUTHOR=Feng Yingming , Chen Xingyun , Li Xuewen , Li Yalin , Nong Wei , Tang Jiao , Han Hongxiang , Shi Lei , Shabala Sergey , Yu Min TITLE=Root Border Cells as a Convenient Single Cell System to Study Plant-Environmental Interactions: A Case Study for Aluminum Tolerance JOURNAL=Frontiers in Soil Science VOLUME=2 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/soil-science/articles/10.3389/fsoil.2022.909530 DOI=10.3389/fsoil.2022.909530 ISSN=2673-8619 ABSTRACT=
Root border cells (RBCs) are a group of cells that originated from the root cap meristem, which are developed by genetic regulation and play a variety of biological functions. Being composed of a homologous single cell population with high metabolic activity and intact cell walls, RBCs represent a highly useful tool for studying various aspects of plant mineral absorption and utilization, as well as plant-soil-microbiome interactions in the rhizosphere. Research on RBCs also promise to become a hotspot in the context of understanding root adaptive responses to hostile environments. In order to take advantage of RBCs as an ideal single cell system in plant-environmental interactions, we summarized the production and function of RBCs and built-up the methodology for RBCs culturing, purification, and quantity control for plant research. The latter is done by using a case study of the application of RBCs to study mechanisms of Al toxicity in plants. This work offers plant scientists a new cognition of adopting RBCs as a convenient single cell system for the multidisciplinary research including (but not limited to) plant physiology, development and genetics, nutrition, and stress and adaptation. Root border cells (RBCs) are derived from the root cap and represent a population of living cells with special physiological activity and biological roles that are different from the root cap cells