Ever wonder how plant roots respond to drought? You probably thought it would be super complex. Turns out a simple change in the development of shoot-borne roots explains much of the architectural differences. In a new paper from the lab published in PNAS we described how grass species suppress crown root growth to slow the extraction of water from soil and preserve this precious resource for a longer time. We think this may allow grass plants to better survive drought. Interestingly, maize and millet still make some crown roots under drought and this may make these domesticated plants more water hungry. Check out the highlight of this work in the BBC!
Dinneny lab 