Abstract：
To meet the demands of a rising human population, plant breeders will need to develop improved crop varieties that maximize yield in the face of increasing pressure on crop production. Historically, the optimization of crop root architecture has represented a challenging breeding target due to the inaccessibility of the root systems. Root hairs, single cell projections from the root epidermis, are perhaps the most overlooked component of root architecture traits. Root hairs play a central role in facilitating water, nutrient uptake, and soil cohesion. Current root hair architectures may be suboptimal under future agricultural production regimes, coupled with an increasingly variable climate. Here, we review the genetic control of root hair development in the world\'s three most important crops: rice, maize and wheat, and highlight conservation of gene function between monocots and the model dicot species Arabidopsis. Advances in genomic techniques including Gene-Editing combined with traditional plant breeding methods have the potential to overcome many inherent issues associated with the design of improved root hair architectures. Ultimately, this will enable detailed characterization of the effects of contrasting root hair morphology strategies on crop yield and resilience, and the development of new varieties better adapted to deliver future food security.
摘要：
为了满足不断增长的人口的需求，面对越来越大的作物生产压力，植物育种者将需要开发改良的作物品种，以最大程度地提高产量。历史上,由于根系难以接近，作物根系结构的优化代表了一个具有挑战性的育种目标。根毛,来自根表皮的单细胞突起，可能是根体系结构特征中最被忽视的组件。根毛在促进水方面发挥着核心作用，营养吸收，和土壤凝聚力。在未来的农业生产制度下，当前的根毛结构可能是次优的，再加上气候越来越多变。这里,我们回顾了世界上三种最重要的作物：水稻，根毛发育的遗传控制，玉米和小麦，并强调了单子叶植物和双子叶植物拟南芥之间基因功能的保守性。包括与传统植物育种方法结合的基因编辑在内的基因组技术的进步有可能克服与改进的根毛结构的设计相关的许多固有问题。最终,这将能够详细表征对比根毛形态策略对作物产量和恢复力的影响，以及开发更好地适应未来粮食安全的新品种。
