TY - JOUR

T1 - Unravelling rootstockxscion interactions to improve food security

AU - Albacete, Alfonso

AU - Martinez-Andujar, Cristina

AU - Martinez-Perez, Ascension

AU - Thompson, Andrew J.

AU - Dodd, Ian C.

AU - Perez-Alfocea, Francisco

PY - 2015/4

Y1 - 2015/4

N2 - While much recent science has focused on understanding and exploiting root traits as new opportunities for crop improvement, the use of rootstocks has enhanced productivity of woody perennial crops for centuries. Grafting of vegetable crops has developed very quickly in the last 50 years, mainly to induce shoot vigour and to overcome soil-borne diseases in solanaceous and cucurbitaceous crops. In most cases, such progress has largely been due to empirical interactions between farmers, gardeners, and botanists, with limited insights into the underlying physiological mechanisms. Only during the last 20 years has science realized the potential of this old activity and studied the physiological and molecular mechanisms involved in rootstockxscion interactions, thereby not only explaining old phenomena but also developing new tools for crop improvement. Rootstocks can contribute to food security by: (i) increasing the yield potential of elite varieties; (ii) closing the yield gap under suboptimal growing conditions; (iii) decreasing the amount of chemical (pesticides and fertilizers) contaminants in the soil; (iv) increasing the efficiency of use of natural (water and soil) resources; (v) generating new useful genotypic variability (via epigenetics); and (vi) creating new products with improved quality. The potential of grafting is as broad as the genetic variability able to cross a potential incompatibility barrier between the rootstock and the scion. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms underlying the phenotypic variability resulting from rootstockxscionxenvironment interactions will certainly contribute to developing and exploiting rootstocks for food security.

AB - While much recent science has focused on understanding and exploiting root traits as new opportunities for crop improvement, the use of rootstocks has enhanced productivity of woody perennial crops for centuries. Grafting of vegetable crops has developed very quickly in the last 50 years, mainly to induce shoot vigour and to overcome soil-borne diseases in solanaceous and cucurbitaceous crops. In most cases, such progress has largely been due to empirical interactions between farmers, gardeners, and botanists, with limited insights into the underlying physiological mechanisms. Only during the last 20 years has science realized the potential of this old activity and studied the physiological and molecular mechanisms involved in rootstockxscion interactions, thereby not only explaining old phenomena but also developing new tools for crop improvement. Rootstocks can contribute to food security by: (i) increasing the yield potential of elite varieties; (ii) closing the yield gap under suboptimal growing conditions; (iii) decreasing the amount of chemical (pesticides and fertilizers) contaminants in the soil; (iv) increasing the efficiency of use of natural (water and soil) resources; (v) generating new useful genotypic variability (via epigenetics); and (vi) creating new products with improved quality. The potential of grafting is as broad as the genetic variability able to cross a potential incompatibility barrier between the rootstock and the scion. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms underlying the phenotypic variability resulting from rootstockxscionxenvironment interactions will certainly contribute to developing and exploiting rootstocks for food security.

KW - Epigenetics

KW - graft-mobile signals

KW - microRNAs

KW - phytohormones

KW - transgrafting

KW - vigour

KW - SOLANUM-LYCOPERSICON L.

KW - GENE-EXPRESSION PATTERNS

KW - SOURCE-SINK RELATIONS

KW - NATURAL ROOT GRAFTS

KW - APPLE TREE SCIONS

KW - LEAF SENESCENCE

KW - ABSCISIC-ACID

KW - HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY

KW - TRANSGENIC PLANTS

KW - VIRUS-RESISTANCE

U2 - 10.1093/jxb/erv027

DO - 10.1093/jxb/erv027

M3 - Literature review

VL - 66

SP - 2211

EP - 2226

JO - Journal of Experimental Botany

JF - Journal of Experimental Botany

SN - 0022-0957

IS - 8

ER -