AUSTRALIA—GERMANY WORKSHOP ON BIODIVERSITY

The Shine Dome, 13-17 March 2006

What do plant roots see? Answers and applications from imaging technologies at CSIRO, Australia, and Jülich, Germany
by Dr Michelle Watt, Research Scientist, CSIRO Plant Industry

Plant roots — their growth and water and nutrient uptake — are central to agricultural sustainability, revegetation of the landscape and minimising leaching and environmental degradation. Roots conserve soil biodiversity because they reduce erosion and provide the carbon for soil biota. Productivity and environmental gains from discoveries about roots and soil organisms are largely untapped. Imaging technologies enable us to ‘see’ roots and organisms in the soil, and thus identify how to improve root growth and function with land management or genetics.
CSIRO has microscopy technologies to see fluorescently labelled organisms, in situ, on soil-grown roots, root-fungal disease interactions by cryo-preservation, and contact between roots, water and soil. The Phytosphere Institute, Forschungszentrum, Jülich, has non-invasive imaging technologies to quantify carbon flow through roots to soil, and dynamic root growth and water uptake in soil. Combined, these technologies will provide major new insights into roots, and can immediately test new CSIRO germ plasm for improved root growth and function in soil.