Earthworms influence the production of above- and belowground biomass and the expression of genes involved in cell proliferation and stress responses in Arabidopsis thaliana

To better understand the complex mechanisms of action of earthworms on plants, we set up an experimental system using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh, Aporrectodea caliginosa a common temperate earthworm and two types of soil with contrasted contents in organic matter and nutrients....

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Main Authors: Jana, U, Barot, Sébastien, Blouin, Manuel, Lavelle, Patrick M., Laffray, D, Repellin, A
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/42764
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author Jana, U
Barot, Sébastien
Blouin, Manuel
Lavelle, Patrick M.
Laffray, D
Repellin, A
author_browse Barot, Sébastien
Blouin, Manuel
Jana, U
Laffray, D
Lavelle, Patrick M.
Repellin, A
author_facet Jana, U
Barot, Sébastien
Blouin, Manuel
Lavelle, Patrick M.
Laffray, D
Repellin, A
author_sort Jana, U
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description To better understand the complex mechanisms of action of earthworms on plants, we set up an experimental system using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh, Aporrectodea caliginosa a common temperate earthworm and two types of soil with contrasted contents in organic matter and nutrients. Changes in plant biomass, biomass allocation to roots, leaves and stems and C/N ratios were related to variations in the expression of several plant genes involved in cellular division and stress responses and with earthworm-induced alterations in soil mineral status. In the poorest soil, i.e. with low contents in mineral nutrient and organic matter, earthworms increased soil nitrate content very significantly and boosted plant aboveground biomass production. This correlated with changes in leaf transcript accumulation suggesting enhanced cell division and lesser incidence of reactive oxygen species. In the richer soil, earthworms had no significant effect on the production of aerial biomass. However, several plant responses were observed regardless of soil quality: enhanced accumulation of an auxin-responsive transcript in the leaves, a strong decrease in root length and biomass and a reduction in C/N values, particularly in the bolt stems. Although these results pointed out earthworm-induced enhancement of mineralization as a determining factor in the formidable plant growth responses, the release in the drilosphere of phytohormone-like compounds by earthworm-activated bacteria was most likely implicated as well in this process and resulted in “forced” nitrogen uptake by the plants. The herein demonstrated sensitivity of the model plant A. thaliana to earthworms shows that such new experimental set up could become a central key to the development of multidisciplinary investigations on plant–soil interactions.
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spelling CGSpace427642024-08-27T10:37:26Z Earthworms influence the production of above- and belowground biomass and the expression of genes involved in cell proliferation and stress responses in Arabidopsis thaliana Jana, U Barot, Sébastien Blouin, Manuel Lavelle, Patrick M. Laffray, D Repellin, A arabidopsis thaliana aporrectodea caliginosa plant plasticity shoot-root ratio soil quality transcript accumulation earthworm To better understand the complex mechanisms of action of earthworms on plants, we set up an experimental system using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh, Aporrectodea caliginosa a common temperate earthworm and two types of soil with contrasted contents in organic matter and nutrients. Changes in plant biomass, biomass allocation to roots, leaves and stems and C/N ratios were related to variations in the expression of several plant genes involved in cellular division and stress responses and with earthworm-induced alterations in soil mineral status. In the poorest soil, i.e. with low contents in mineral nutrient and organic matter, earthworms increased soil nitrate content very significantly and boosted plant aboveground biomass production. This correlated with changes in leaf transcript accumulation suggesting enhanced cell division and lesser incidence of reactive oxygen species. In the richer soil, earthworms had no significant effect on the production of aerial biomass. However, several plant responses were observed regardless of soil quality: enhanced accumulation of an auxin-responsive transcript in the leaves, a strong decrease in root length and biomass and a reduction in C/N values, particularly in the bolt stems. Although these results pointed out earthworm-induced enhancement of mineralization as a determining factor in the formidable plant growth responses, the release in the drilosphere of phytohormone-like compounds by earthworm-activated bacteria was most likely implicated as well in this process and resulted in “forced” nitrogen uptake by the plants. The herein demonstrated sensitivity of the model plant A. thaliana to earthworms shows that such new experimental set up could become a central key to the development of multidisciplinary investigations on plant–soil interactions. 2010-02 2014-09-24T07:58:32Z 2014-09-24T07:58:32Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/42764 en Open Access Elsevier
spellingShingle arabidopsis thaliana
aporrectodea caliginosa
plant plasticity
shoot-root ratio
soil quality
transcript accumulation
earthworm
Jana, U
Barot, Sébastien
Blouin, Manuel
Lavelle, Patrick M.
Laffray, D
Repellin, A
Earthworms influence the production of above- and belowground biomass and the expression of genes involved in cell proliferation and stress responses in Arabidopsis thaliana
title Earthworms influence the production of above- and belowground biomass and the expression of genes involved in cell proliferation and stress responses in Arabidopsis thaliana
title_full Earthworms influence the production of above- and belowground biomass and the expression of genes involved in cell proliferation and stress responses in Arabidopsis thaliana
title_fullStr Earthworms influence the production of above- and belowground biomass and the expression of genes involved in cell proliferation and stress responses in Arabidopsis thaliana
title_full_unstemmed Earthworms influence the production of above- and belowground biomass and the expression of genes involved in cell proliferation and stress responses in Arabidopsis thaliana
title_short Earthworms influence the production of above- and belowground biomass and the expression of genes involved in cell proliferation and stress responses in Arabidopsis thaliana
title_sort earthworms influence the production of above and belowground biomass and the expression of genes involved in cell proliferation and stress responses in arabidopsis thaliana
topic arabidopsis thaliana
aporrectodea caliginosa
plant plasticity
shoot-root ratio
soil quality
transcript accumulation
earthworm
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/42764
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