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Exploring the Formation of Adventitious Roots in Perennial Species: Insights...
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Exploring the Formation of Adventitious Roots in Perennial Species: Insights and Perspectives

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Development and Morphogenesis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 2113

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Pedro Alfonso Sansberro

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Guest Editor
Laboratorio de Biotecnología Aplicada y Genómica Funcional, Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste (IBONE-CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, Sgto. Cabral 2131, Corrientes W3402BKG, Argentina
Interests: plant physiology; plant biotechnology; plant biology; plant breeding; abiotic stress tolerance; plant molecular biology; plant environmental stress physiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Conchi Sánchez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Misión Biológica de Galicia (CSIC), Pontevedra, Spain
Interests: adventitious rooting; micropropagation; woody plants; transcriptomics; plant regeneration; gene expression
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Selecting perennial species for forestry, fruit, ornamental, or industrial purposes requires a comprehensive observation from the juvenile to adulthood stage. Upon identifying genotypes with desirable traits, implementing an effective vegetative propagation procedure becomes imperative to ensure the large-scale production of clonal plants. New plants should possess a profuse, high-quality adventitious root system to facilitate their rapid establishment in field conditions, endure the challenging circumstances of the canopy, and support rapid growth. In recent years, considerable progress has been made in elucidating the molecular complex that controls the development of adventitious roots in stem cuttings and shoot apices. At the same time, a better understanding of how the transition from the vegetative to the adult phase influences the morphogenic process has been achieved. Considering all these advancements, further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms that control the number of roots per cutting, the root structure, and the growth rate of the propagated plants. Integrating this information will yield valuable insights into the process and guide the development of strategies to enhance the quantity and quality of roots, thereby ensuring the fast establishment of the plantation. To improve our understanding of the factors impeding the mass propagation of perennial species, we invite the scientific community to contribute short notes, original articles, or reviews covering all aspects of adventitious rooting and growth of rooted cuttings, including reinvigoration and rejuvenation.

Dr. Pedro Alfonso Sansberro
Dr. Conchi Sánchez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • adventitious rooting
  • plant rejuvenation
  • stem cuttings
  • perennial species

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 6095 KB  
Article
Unveiling the GA4-Ferulic Acid Regulatory Axis: Redox-Mediated Suberization Governs Adventitious Rooting Recalcitrance in Pinus massoniana
by Yin Wang and Ruiling Yao
Plants 2025, 14(21), 3246; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14213246 - 23 Oct 2025
Viewed by 290
Abstract
Pinus massoniana, a critically important afforestation species in subtropical China, shows severe adventitious rooting recalcitrance linked to endogenous gibberellin (GA) dysregulation. Our study reveals a GA4-mediated regulatory network that coordinates hormonal crosstalk, redox homeostasis, and cell wall remodeling. Treatment with [...] Read more.
Pinus massoniana, a critically important afforestation species in subtropical China, shows severe adventitious rooting recalcitrance linked to endogenous gibberellin (GA) dysregulation. Our study reveals a GA4-mediated regulatory network that coordinates hormonal crosstalk, redox homeostasis, and cell wall remodeling. Treatment with the GA biosynthesis inhibitor paclobutrazol (PBZ, 100 mg·L−1) shortened rooting time by 32.5% and increased rooting success by 79.5%. We found that PBZ redirected GA flux by upregulating GA3-oxidase (GA3OX), leading to GA4 accumulation. However, elevated GA4 levels impaired root development by triggering suberization through ferulic acid (FA)-mediated redox imbalance. Application of GA4 (100 mg·L−1) reduced caffeoyl alcohol content by 54.4% but increased FA and caffeic acid levels 2.4–3.9-fold, shifting lignin precursors toward suberin biosynthesis. FA modulated H2O2 flux in a dose-dependent manner: 200 mg·L−1 optimized redox homeostasis (93.7% lower H2O2 influx), whereas 1000 mg·L−1 suppressed mitosis. The combination of PBZ (100 mg·L−1) and FA (200 mg·L−1) synergistically enhanced rooting success by 34.4% and achieved 95.8% field survival after two years (vs. 68.5% in controls), challenging the traditional view that lignification alone limits rooting in woody plants. This work provides the first evidence that the GA4-FA axis controls adventitious root formation in conifers via a Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent switch between suberin and lignin metabolism, offering new strategies to overcome rooting barriers. The PBZ + FA protocol enables scalable clonal propagation of recalcitrant conifers, with potential applications in molecular breeding and forest restoration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring the Formation of Adventitious Roots in Perennial Species: Insights and Perspectives)
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18 pages, 1749 KB  
Article
Effect of Nitric Oxide on Adventitious Root Development from Cuttings of Sweetpotato and Associated Biochemical Changes
by Meng Wang, Jianghui Li, Yuhao Wu, Hongxing Zhang, Hui Wang and Lingyun Wang
Plants 2025, 14(20), 3183; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14203183 - 16 Oct 2025
Viewed by 316
Abstract
Adventitious rooting is a key step for the clonal propagation of many economically important horticultural and woody species. Accumulating evidence suggests that nitric oxide (NO) serves as a key signaling molecule with key roles in root organogenesis. However, the role of NO in [...] Read more.
Adventitious rooting is a key step for the clonal propagation of many economically important horticultural and woody species. Accumulating evidence suggests that nitric oxide (NO) serves as a key signaling molecule with key roles in root organogenesis. However, the role of NO in adventitious root development and its underlying mechanism in sweetpotato cuttings remain to be clarified. In this study, a pot experiment was conducted using hydroponically cultured sweetpotato cuttings (Ipomoea batatas cv. ‘Jin Ganshu No. 9’) treated with different concentrations of sodium nitroprusside (SNP, an NO donor) solution (0, 10, 50, 100, 200, and 500 μmol·L−1). Three treatments were established: Control, SNP (the optimal concentration of SNP), and SNP + 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide (cPTIO, an NO scavenger). The results showed that NO promoted adventitious rooting in a dose-dependent manner, with the maximal biological response observed at 100 μM SNP. At this concentration, the root number and length of adventitious roots increased by 1.22 and 2.36 times, respectively, compared to the control. SNP treatment increased fresh root weight, dry root weight, the content of soluble sugar, soluble protein, chlorophyll a (Chl a), chlorophyll b (Chl b), and total chlorophyll (a + b) [Chl(a + b)], as well as the activities of peroxidase (POD), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), and indole acetic acid oxidase (IAAO). It also enhanced the levels of maximum fluorescence (Fm), maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm), absorbed light energy (ABS/RC), trapped energy flux (TRo/RC), and electron transport flux (ETo/RC), while decreasing starch content and initial fluorescence (Fo). On the 7th day, the SNP treatment significantly enhanced several biochemical parameters compared to the control. We observed an increase in many of the parameters: POD activity by 1.35 times, PPO activity by 0.55 times, chlorophyll content (Chl a by 0.66 times, Chl b by 0.22 times, and Chl a + b by 0.57 times), and photosynthesis parameters by 28–98%. Meanwhile, starch content and Fo in the SNP treatment decreased by 10.77% and 23.86%, respectively, compared to the control. Furthermore, the positive effects of NO on adventitious root development and associated biochemical parameters were reversed by the NO scavenger cPTIO. Additionally, significant and positive correlations were observed between morphological characteristics and most physiological indicators. Collectively, these results demonstrate that NO promotes adventitious root formation, which may be by enhancing rooting-related enzyme activities, improving photosynthetic performance in leaves, and accelerating the metabolism of soluble sugar, soluble protein, and starch. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring the Formation of Adventitious Roots in Perennial Species: Insights and Perspectives)
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20 pages, 5175 KB  
Article
Rejuvenation of Mature Ilex paraguariensis Plants Through Serial Rooted Cuttings: Exploring the Roles of miRNAs in Reversing Adult Phase, Promoting Root Formation, and Determining Root Structure
by María J. Duarte, Raúl M. Acevedo, Nicolás L. Ortiz, Mayra Y. Álvarez and Pedro A. Sansberro
Plants 2025, 14(11), 1668; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14111668 - 30 May 2025
Viewed by 877
Abstract
In plants, the transition from the juvenile to adult stage involves physiological and anatomical changes initiated and partially controlled by evolutionarily conserved microRNAs. This process is of particular significance for the successful propagation of woody plant species that have transitioned to vegetative maturity [...] Read more.
In plants, the transition from the juvenile to adult stage involves physiological and anatomical changes initiated and partially controlled by evolutionarily conserved microRNAs. This process is of particular significance for the successful propagation of woody plant species that have transitioned to vegetative maturity and are recalcitrant to propagation. Conserved miRNAs differentially expressed between rejuvenated and mature Ilex paraguariensis plants were identified using high-throughput sequencing of small RNA libraries. The expression of miR156/miR157/miR528 was high in the leaves of juvenile plants and gradually decreased as the plant transitioned from juvenile to adult stages. In contrast, miR172 was predominantly expressed in adult plants. This variation confirmed that adults transitioned back to a juvenile phase after serial-rooted cuttings, allowing the plants to regain juvenile characteristics. Rejuvenation promotes the formation of adventitious roots and improves root structure, which supports the overall growth of the plant and results in greater vigour. The results will offer insights for further investigation into the molecular mechanisms regulating vegetative phase change in I. paraguariensis and other recalcitrant woody plant species. This knowledge could facilitate the earlier identification of rejuvenated material by analysing a wider range of genotypes and maturation stages, enhancing the efficiency of Ilex paraguariensis mass propagation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring the Formation of Adventitious Roots in Perennial Species: Insights and Perspectives)
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