Root Branching: from Lateral Root Primordium Initiation and Morphogenesis to Function

The root system mediates plant adaptation to soils containing nutrient contents ranging from abundant to extremely limited. Knowledge of the mechanisms of root production in plants has the potential to greatly benefit human health as roots are used widely as food and sources of pharmaceutical compounds, and root systems could be bred to improve water and nutrient acquisition efficiency and for phytoremediation applications. Root branching in plants is a cardinal process of root system formation and an essential constituent of plant health. LR formation is controlled by intrinsic and extrinsic pathways and it determines the characteristic architecture of the root system and limits its developmental plasticity.

This Research Topics article collection focuses on the mechanisms and consequences of root branching in plants from LR initiation to morphogenesis and development to the impact of root branching characteristics on plant physiology, from model to non-model species. All types of paper are welcome: review, opinion, and experimental studies in both model and non-model plant species. Potential subjects include but are not limited to priming and other pre-initiation processes involved in LR development, early developmental events leading to LR initiation, molecular and cellular bases of LRP morphogenesis and development, spacing regularities of LRPs and their heterogeneity, physiological, hormonal, anatomical, and molecular mechanisms of LR development and emergence, quantitative analysis of LR branching, post-emergence LR meristem activation & growth, impact of branching on plant growth and resilience to stresses.