The barrier to radial oxygen loss from roots of rice (Oryza sativa L.) is induced by growth in stagnant solution

The present report describes experiments in which the effects of growth in aerated and stagnant nutrient solutions on adventitious root porosities and patterns of radial O-2 loss (ROL) from the roots of four genotypes of rice (Oryza sativa L.) were evaluated. The genotypes studied are usually cultivated in farming systems which differ markedly in their degree of soil waterlogging and flooding. Rice genotypes were found to differ in the constitutive porosity (% gas space) of their adventitious roots when grown in aerated solutions (lowest was 16%, highest was 30%), and the roots grown in stagnant conditions had porosities between 28% and 38%. ROL from the adventitious roots raised in aerated solution increased with distance behind the tip in three of the four genotypes; whereas for roots raised in stagnant solution, ROL decreased with distance behind the tip which is indicative of a high resistance to diffusion between the aerenchyma and external medium. For example, at 35 mm behind the root tip the ROL from roots of the 'deepwater' cultivar grown in stagnant conditions was 0.7% of the rate of its aerated roots, for the 'lowland' cultivar it was 5.6%, and for one of the 'upland' cultivars it was 43.6%. Thus, the barrier to ROL from the adventitious roots in three of the four genotypes was induced by growth in stagnant nutrient solution. A low rate of ROL from the basal zones of roots in an O-2-free environment is of adaptative value since longitudinal diffusion of O-2 to the root apex would be enhanced which, in turn, enables greater penetration of roots into anaerobic soils.