Talk:WikiJournal Preprints/Brace Roots

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WikiJournal User Group is a publishing group of open-access, free-to-publish, Wikipedia-integrated academic journals. <seo title=" Wikiversity Journal User Group, WikiJournal Free to publish, Open access, Open-access, Non-profit, online journal, Public peer review "/>

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This article is an unpublished pre-print undergoing public peer review organised by the WikiJournal Preprints.

You can follow its progress through the peer review process at this tracking page.

First submitted: 17 Aug 2023
Article text

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QID: Q122688735

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Suggested (provisional) preprint citation format:
Thanduanlung Kamei; Irene Ikiriko; Susan Abernathy; Amanda Rasmussen; Erin E Sparks. "Brace Roots". WikiJournal Preprints. Wikidata Q122688735. 

License: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction, provided the original author and source are credited.

Editors:

Andrew Leung contact

Reviewers: (comments)

Hannah M. Schneider
Alan B. Bennett
Jagdeep S. Sidhu

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Article information

Authors: Thanduanlung Kamei  , Irene I. Ikiriko  , Susan M. Abernathy  , Amanda Rasmussen  , Erin E. Sparks  

See author information ▼

This is the pre-publication public peer review for the article Brace Roots

• Check for potential plagiarism (instructions for editors)
• Add a pre-publication peer review (instructions for reviewers)
• Update wikidata if article accepted or update wikidata if declined (instructions for editors)

Plagiarism check

Pass. Report from the WMF copyvios tool flagged a few false positives (not regarded as plagiarism) due to common stock phrases, mostly around affiliation and acknowledgements. 5.7% similarity with "violation unlikely". OhanaUnited^{Talk page} 02:47, 19 September 2023 (UTC)

Peer review #1

Review by Hannah Schneider , Leibniz Institute for Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research
These assessment comments were submitted on 4 Jan 2024, and refer to this previous version of the article

This is a well-written and up-to-date article about the physiology and genetic control of brace roots in plants. It provides a brief, but comprehensive summary of the scientific literature on the topic.

I just have a few comments for the authors to consider to improve clarity of the article:

In the section ‘Brace root architecture and function’ it states ‘Anatomically, the efficiency of water and nutrient transport is determined by the number and size of vascular xylem vessels known as metaxylem. Brace roots have up to 48 metaxylem vessels, which account for up to 75% of the vessels that transport water in the plant.' These sentences are unclear. Xylem vessels alone do not determine the efficiency of water and nutrient transport. Other tissues (e.g. cortical cells, apoplastic barriers) provide a lot of resistance (radially) for water and nutrient transport (which probably is a much greater resistance than axial resistances). Could you please modify this sentence to include a bit more specific language? In addition, I am unsure of what you mean by brace roots have up to 75% of vessels that transport water in the plant. This depends on the developmental stage of the plant and vessels are continuous through different root classes and plant organs. Could you also please modify this sentence for clarity?

In addition, several places in the article, you refer to the brace roots from ‘lowest’ whorl or node. It might be helpful for the reader to define what the ‘lowest’ means i.e. closest node to the root-shoot junction.

OhanaUnited^{Talk page} 20:53, 3 January 2024 (UTC)

We greatly appreciate the reviewers' careful consideration of our manuscript and constructive comments.  Please see our responses in italics below.

1. In the section ‘Brace root architecture and function’ it states ‘Anatomically, the efficiency of water and nutrient transport is determined by the number and size of vascular xylem vessels known as metaxylem. Brace roots have up to 48 metaxylem vessels, which account for up to 75% of the vessels that transport water in the plant.' These sentences are unclear. Xylem vessels alone do not determine the efficiency of water and nutrient transport. Other tissues (e.g. cortical cells, apoplastic barriers) provide a lot of resistance (radially) for water and nutrient transport (which probably is a much greater resistance than axial resistances). Could you please modify this sentence to include a bit more specific language? We have elaborated and included more specific language. The updated text says: Anatomical differences in brace roots have also been used to predict their function. For example, the number and size of differentiated late metaxylem vessels, which are utilized in water and nutrient transport, are much larger compared to those in the primary root [11]. Indeed, brace roots from whorls high on the stem contain up to 41 times more metaxylem vessels than primary roots [9].
2. In addition, I am unsure of what you mean by brace roots have up to 75% of vessels that transport water in the plant. This depends on the developmental stage of the plant and vessels are continuous through different root classes and plant organs. Could you also please modify this sentence for clarity? In attempts to clarify and elaborate in the introduction section, we have made changes that have resulted in this sentence being removed entirely.
3. In addition, several places in the article, you refer to the brace roots from ‘lowest’ whorl or node. It might be helpful for the reader to define what the ‘lowest’ means i.e. closest node to the root-shoot junction. Thank you for the suggestion we have clarified this with the following text: Brace roots develop starting from the lowest stem node (node closest to the soil), where multiple roots emerge arranged in a whorl around the stem (Figure 1).

Esparks UD (discuss • contribs) 19:35, 26 June 2024 (UTC)

Peer review #2

Review by Alan Bennett , University of California Davis
These assessment comments were submitted on 2 Mar 2024, and refer to this previous version of the article

1) The use of the term "brace roots" may be misleading since the term "brace" roots imply that they touch the ground or penetrate the soil. A more inclusive term would be "aerial nodal roots" and would include the two types of aerial roots that the authors show in Figure 1. 2) The authors should cite and review this paper with respect to the role ZmSBT3 on aerial rot development and contribution to N2 fixation. 3) This paper is very well written and concisely covers the topic of aerial root development and function.

OhanaUnited^{Talk page} 18:48, 1 March 2024 (UTC)

We greatly appreciate the reviewers' careful consideration of our manuscript and constructive comments.  Please see our responses in italics below.

1) The use of the term "brace roots" may be misleading since the term "brace" roots imply that they touch the ground or penetrate the soil. A more inclusive term would be "aerial nodal roots" and would include the two types of aerial roots that the authors show in Figure 1.

We thank the reviewer for bringing this up and agree the term “brace” could imply that they touch the ground or penetrate the soil. However, since roots originating from above-ground nodes are commonly called brace roots, this Wiki article is meant to clarify what that term means. To differentiate between roots that enter the soil from aboveground nodes versus those that remain aerial, we have used the terminology “aerial” and “soil” before brace root. The authors are concurrently working on a Wiki article for Aerial Roots that would further clarify these distinctions.

2) The authors should cite and review this paper with respect to the role ZmSBT3 on aerial rot development and contribution to N2 fixation.

The following text has been added:

According to a study on the ancient Sierra Mixe maize variety, this mucilage can also harbor nitrogen-fixing microbes that contribute to nitrogen acquisition [20]. When considering modern maize lines, one study revealed that while mucilage secretion is common, only a few lines have retained nitrogen-fixing traits similar to that of ancient maize  [21]. Moreover, genetic mapping studies identified SUBTILIN3 (ZmSBT3) as a negative regulator of mucilage secretion. Indeed, knockout of ZmSBT3 in a low-mucilage producing line increased mucilage secretion without impacting the number of brace root whorls, the number of brace roots per whorl, or the diameter of the brace roots. Thus, highlighting the future of engineering mucilage production to facilitate association with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. [21].

3) This paper is very well written and concisely covers the topic of aerial root development and function.

We greatly appreciate the reviewer’s time in providing feedback and appreciate their positive comments. Esparks UD (discuss • contribs) 19:36, 26 June 2024 (UTC)

Peer review #3

Review by Jagdeep Singh Sidhu , Department of Plant Science, Penn State University
These assessment comments were submitted on 20 Apr 2024, and refer to this previous version of the article

I enjoyed reading this article on brace roots, and I found it to be quite informative and well-written. However, I have a few suggestions that I believe could be useful:

Clarification of Terminology: While the article adequately describes the function of brace roots in anchorage, it might be beneficial to provide a brief explanation of the origin of the term "brace roots" and why it is still used, especially considering instances where they may not serve a bracing function in the traditional sense.

Expansion on Nutrient Uptake: It would be beneficial to expand on the specific nutrients, such as phosphorus (P), that brace roots might be particularly adept at absorbing from the soil. If nothing else this could provide readers with a question on the importance of brace roots in nutrient acquisition.

Anatomical Characteristics and Growth Patterns: In the anatomical section, consider including additional traits that distinguish brace roots from belowground nodal roots, such as the ratio of stele to cortical tissue and variations in diameter across developmental stages. Discussing the potential role of "growth-time-specific allometry" would be good as well.

Environmental Factors and Brace Root Development: It may be worthwhile to explore the hypothetical role of planting depth on brace root development, considering the significant impact of environmental factors, such as soil depth, on root growth.

Figure Labeling: Lastly, consider increasing the visibility of labels "4" and "5" in Figure 2 by enlarging them.

OhanaUnited^{Talk page} 19:27, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

We greatly appreciate the reviewers' careful consideration of our manuscript and constructive comments.  Please see our responses in italics below.

1. Clarification of Terminology: While the article adequately describes the function of brace roots in anchorage, it might be beneficial to provide a brief explanation of the origin of the term "brace roots" and why it is still used, especially considering instances where they may not serve a bracing function in the traditional sense.

We have added the following text:

The term "brace root” has been inconsistently used. In some contexts, the term is used for only aboveground nodal roots that remain aerial and could provide support after tipping [7]. This notion dates back to the work of Martin and Hershey in 1935 [8] and was further expounded by Hoppe et al. 1986 [9]. However, over time, the term has evolved to encompass all aboveground nodal roots or sometimes only those that enter the soil [10].

2. Expansion on Nutrient Uptake: It would be beneficial to expand on the specific nutrients, such as phosphorus (P), that brace roots might be particularly adept at absorbing from the soil. If nothing else this could provide readers with a question on the importance of brace roots in nutrient acquisition.

We have added the following text:

In addition to nitrogen acquisition, brace roots that enter the soil during tasseling (the stage at which maize plants develop the male reproductive structure called tassel) have been shown to take up phosphorus [22]. It remains unknown if this is specific to the tasseling stage or if brace roots provide an important role in phosphorus acquisition at other stages as well.

3. Anatomical Characteristics and Growth Patterns: In the anatomical section, consider including additional traits that distinguish brace roots from belowground nodal roots, such as the ratio of stele to cortical tissue and variations in diameter across developmental stages. Discussing the potential role of "growth-time-specific allometry" would be good as well.

We have added the following text:

In maize, aerial brace roots, soil brace roots, and crown roots exhibit distinctive phenotypic traits. Anatomical differences start as early as the primordium (immature organ), where the shape of the root cap within primordia differs between belowground crown roots and aboveground brace roots. The crown root primordia has a conical root cap similar to the primary root, whereas the brace root primordia has a flattened root cap that extends further along the primordia length [3]. As brace roots penetrate the soil, the root cap gradually resembles that of crown roots [9].

In general, the aerial portion of brace roots is different from the soil portion of brace roots, with the soil portion more closely resembling the crown roots. For example, the aerial segments of brace roots are green or purple in color and become colorless when the roots penetrate the soil. In addition, the aerial segments of brace roots have epidermis (outermost cell layer) that is reported to die; and a thickened hypodermis (layer of cell beneath the epidermis) and outer cortex (tissue layer located between the epidermis and the vascular tissues) [9]. When brace roots penetrate the soil, these phenotypes again become similar to crown roots. Thus, suggesting that the aerial versus soil environment plays an important role in shaping brace root anatomy.  

Furthermore, characterization of root architectural traits within and among maize genotypes showed that node-position impacts the growth patterns and characteristics of nodal roots; with size-related traits (e.g., stem width, number of roots per whorl, and nodal root diameter) showing significant sensitivity to node position [23]. In contrast, traits such as root growth angle showed little variation across whorls or genotypes. However, both the root growth angle and the number of roots per whorl are impacted by the availability of soil nitrogen, suggesting that root traits are not purely allometric (related to plant size) but also environmentally dependent [23].

4. Environmental Factors and Brace Root Development: It may be worthwhile to explore the hypothetical role of planting depth on brace root development, considering the significant impact of environmental factors, such as soil depth, on root growth.

We have added the following text:

Another factor to consider is the planting depth. Planting depth affects the rate of germination and seminal root development, however, it might not impact brace root development [49]. The crown, a highly compressed set of underground stem nodes, where crown roots develop, maintains a consistent depth regardless of planting depth [50]. This consistency in the crown position is determined by a change in the red to far-red light ratio near the soil surface as the seedling emerges. When the coleoptile reaches near the soil surface, the change in light ratio alters hormone supply, halting mesocotyl elongation [51]. As a result, the crown depth remains nearly the same (1/2 to 3/4 inch) for seeding depths of one inch or greater. Since brace roots form after the crown depth is established, they should not be directly affected by the planting depth, however, this has not been tested.

5. Figure Labeling: Lastly, consider increasing the visibility of labels "4" and "5" in Figure 2 by enlarging them.

We have increased the size of the labels in Figure 2 and made them bold. Esparks UD (discuss • contribs) 19:37, 26 June 2024 (UTC)