Boosting silica levels in wheat leaves reduces grazing by rabbits

Cotterill, J.; Watkins, Richard; Brennon, Clare B; Cowan, David P.

doi:10.1002/ps.1302

Cited by 52 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Apart from forage crops, few breeding efforts have targeted ash compositional changes in grass species. A long-term breeding effort would be necessary to change ash composition, and improvements would have to be balanced against negative effects, because silica is believed to help prevent animal herbivory (Salim and Saxena, 1992;Cotterill et al, 2007;Keeping et al, 2009). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic Variation in Biomass Traits among 20 Diverse Rice Varieties

Jahn

McKay²,

Mauleon³

et al. 2010

Plant Physiology

102

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Biofuels provide a promising route of producing energy while reducing reliance on petroleum. Developing sustainable liquid fuel production from cellulosic feedstock is a major challenge and will require significant breeding efforts to maximize plant biomass production. Our approach to elucidating genes and genetic pathways that can be targeted for improving biomass production is to exploit the combination of genomic tools and genetic diversity in rice (Oryza sativa). In this study, we analyzed a diverse set of 20 recently resequenced rice varieties for variation in biomass traits at several different developmental stages. The traits included plant size and architecture, aboveground biomass, and underlying physiological processes. We found significant genetic variation among the 20 lines in all morphological and physiological traits. Although heritability estimates were significant for all traits, heritabilities were higher in traits relating to plant size and architecture than for physiological traits. Trait variation was largely explained by variety and breeding history (advanced versus landrace) but not by varietal groupings (indica, japonica, and aus). In the context of cellulosic biofuels development, cell wall composition varied significantly among varieties. Surprisingly, photosynthetic rates among the varieties were inversely correlated with biomass accumulation. Examining these data in an evolutionary context reveals that rice varieties have achieved high biomass production via independent developmental and physiological pathways, suggesting that there are multiple targets for biomass improvement. Future efforts to identify loci and networks underlying this functional variation will facilitate the improvement of biomass traits in other grasses being developed as energy crops.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic Variation in Biomass Traits among 20 Diverse Rice Varieties

Jahn

McKay²,

Mauleon³

et al. 2010

Plant Physiology

102

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“…Si also suppresses insect pests such as stem borer (Chilo suppressalis), brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens), and rice green leafhopper (Nephotettix cincticeps; Savant et al, 1997). Resistance to the damage by wild rabbit in wheat is also enhanced by an increased amount of Si in leaf tissue (Cotterill et al, 2007). Si is also able to alleviate lodging, drought, and low-and high-temperature stresses (Ma, 2004).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional Characterization of a Silicon Transporter Gene Implicated in Silicon Distribution in Barley

et al. 2012

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Silicon (Si) is a beneficial element for plant growth. In barley (Hordeum vulgare), Si uptake by the roots is mainly mediated by a Si channel, Low Silicon1 (HvLsi1), and an efflux transporter, HvLsi2. However, transporters involved in the distribution of Si in the shoots have not been identified. Here, we report the functional characterization of a homolog of HvLsi1, HvLsi6. HvLsi6 showed permeability for Si and localized to the plasma membrane. At the vegetative growth stage, HvLsi6 was expressed in both the roots and shoots. The expression level was unaffected by Si supply. In the roots, HvLsi6 was localized in epidermis and cortex cells of the tips, while in the leaf blades and sheaths, HvLsi6 was only localized at parenchyma cells of vascular bundles. At the reproductive growth stage, high expression of HvLsi6 was also found in the nodes. HvLsi6 in node I was polarly located at the transfer cells surrounding the enlarged vascular bundles toward the numerous xylem vessels. These results suggest that HvLsi6 is involved in Si uptake in the root tips, xylem unloading of Si in leaf blade and sheath, and intervascular transfer of Si in the nodes. Furthermore, HvLsi2 was found to be localized at the parenchyma cell layer adjacent to the transfer cells with opposite polarity of HvLsi6, suggesting that the coupling of HvLsi6 and HvLsi2 is involved in the intervascular transfer of Si at the nodes. Si translocated via the enlarged vascular bundles is unloaded to the transfer cells by HvLsi6, followed by HvLsi2 to reload Si to the diffuse vascular bundles, which are connected to the upper part of the plant, especially the panicles, the ultimate Si sink.

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“…Attack by insect pests such as stem borer, brown plant hopper and rice green leaf hopper is suppressed by Si (Savant et al 1997 ). Higher concentration of Si in wheat leaves reduces damage caused by wild rabbits (Cotterill et al 2007 ). Application of Si effectively induces broad spectrum disease resistance.…”

Section: Functions Of Silicon In Plantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Silicon (Si) Uptake

Mitra

2015

Regulation of Nutrient Uptake by Plants

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Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant element after oxygen and constitutes 27.7 % of the earth's crust. While the occurrence of pure silicon is rare, silicate minerals account for 90 % of the mass of the earth's crust. Silicon is a constituent of all plants, and its concentration in shoot may vary from 0.1 to 10 % of dry weight. Plants take up Si primarily as orthosilicic acid. LSi1 (low silicon 1) is a member of NIP2 subgroup of NIP subfamily of aquaporin-like proteins and functions as a Si-permeable channel. LSi6 is a homologue of LSi1 and is involved in xylem unloading of Si in rice.

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Boosting silica levels in wheat leaves reduces grazing by rabbits

Cited by 52 publications

References 30 publications

Genetic Variation in Biomass Traits among 20 Diverse Rice Varieties

Genetic Variation in Biomass Traits among 20 Diverse Rice Varieties

Functional Characterization of a Silicon Transporter Gene Implicated in Silicon Distribution in Barley

Silicon (Si) Uptake

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