Mapping the root systems of individual trees in a natural community using genotyping-by-sequencing

The architecture of root systems is an important driver of plant fitness, competition and ecosystem processes. However, the methodological difficulty of mapping roots hampers the study of these processes. Existing approaches to match individual plants to belowground samples are low-throughput and species-specific. Here, we developed a scalable sequencing-based method to map the root systes of individual trees across multiple species. We successfully applied it to a tropical dry forest community in the Brazilian Caatinga containing 14 species We sequenced all 42 individual shrubs and trees in a 14 by 14 m plot using double-digest restriction-site associated sequencing (ddRADseq). We identified species-specific markers and individual-specific haplotypes from the data. We matched these markers to ddRADseq data from 100 mixed root samples from across the centre (10 by 10 m) of the plot at four different depths, using a newly developed R package We identified individual root samples for all species and all but one individual. There was a strong significant correlation between below and aboveground size measurements, and we also detected significant species-level root-depth preference for two species.? The method is more scalable and less labour-intensive than current techniques, and is broadly applicable to ecology, forestry and agricultural biology.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	OSBORNE, O. G., DOBREVA, M. P., PAPADOPULOS, A. S. T., MOURA, M. S. B. de, BRUNELLO, A. T., QUEIROZ, L. P. de, PENNINGTON, R. T., LLOYD, J., SAVOLAINEN, V.
Other Authors:	OWEN G. OSBORNE, Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London; MARIYA P. DOBREVA, Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London; ALEXANDER S. T. PAPADOPULOS, Molecular Ecology and Evolution Bangor, School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Environment Centre Wales; MAGNA SOELMA BESERRA DE MOURA, CPATSA; ALEXANDRE T. BRUNELLO, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo; LUCIANO P. DE QUEIROZ, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana; R. TOBY PENNINGTON, Geography, University of Exeter, Amory Building; JON LLOYD, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia; VINCENT SAVOLAINEN, Royal Botanic Gardens.
Format:	Artigo de periódico biblioteca
Language:	Ingles English
Published:	New Phytologist, Nov. 2022. 2022-12-19
Subjects:	Distribuição de densidade de raízes individuais, Comunidade tropical, DdRADseq, Mapeamento dos sistemas radiculares, Genotipagem, Caatinga, Ecologia Vegetal, Floresta Tropical, Árvore Florestal, Tropical forests, Plant ecology,
Online Access:	http://www.alice.cnptia.embrapa.br/alice/handle/doc/1149896 https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.18645
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