Dear Colleagues,

In plant biology today, it is hard to find a keyword more transversal than root. Roots are invoked anytime we address the mechanisms of adaptation of plants to harsh environmental conditions (e.g., soil water availability), the interactions with symbiotic or parasitic micro-organisms, or the core cellular mechanisms of organ growth or tissue differentiation. Additionally, in crop species, roots morphology and architecture have eventually been recognized as inescapably linked with productivity and the efficient use of input resources (e.g., fertilizers). In this field, areas of active research are modelling the effect of different root architectures on crop productivity, or the continuous improvement of underground phenotyping techniques.

Until very recently, however, outside Arabidopsis, we largely missed information on genes controlling root development. Now, things are rapidly changing, and reports on new genes involved in embryonic, primary, adventitious or lateral roots development are piling up. Genes involved in anatomical features (e.g., aerenchyma) or in root hairs development are also being discovered. This is certainly partly due to the recent availability of genomics-based protocols of investigation, making the dissection of natural quantitative variation (i.e., QTL mapping and cloning) almost as efficient as the exploitation of mutants and reverse genetics for finding genes. This notwithstanding, important root biology areas (e.g., root directional growth mechanisms “Tropisms”, or cross-talk between roots and shoot) still suffer from limited genetic information.

All of the above clearly show how central and hot the genetics of root development is in current plant biology. Therefore, for this Special Issue, we would like to invite submissions of high quality original research or review articles on topics related to the genetics of root development.

Prof. Silvio Salvi
Guest Editor

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• QTL mapping
• Root architecture
• Root development
• Root anatomy
• Root tropism
• Rhizosphere microbiome and root development
• Root/Shoot crosstalk
• Underground phenotyping