Rhizosphere

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Rhizosphere

In 1904 the German agronomist and plant physiologist Lorenz Hiltner first coined the term "rhizosphere" to describe the plant-root interface, a word originating in part from the Greek word "rhiza", meaning root (Hiltner, 1904; Hartmann et al., 2008). Hiltner described the rhizosphere as the area around a plant root that is inhabited by a unique population of microorganisms influenced, he postulated, by the chemicals released from plant roots. In the years since, the rhizosphere definition has been refined to include three zones which are defined based on their relative proximity to, and thus influence from, the root (Figure 1). The endorhizosphere includes portions of the cortex and endodermis in which microbes and cations can occupy the "free space" between cells (apoplastic space). The rhizoplane is the medial zone directly adjacent to the root including the root epidermis and mucilage. The outermost zone is the ectorhizosphere which extends from the rhizoplane out into the bulk soil. As might be expected because of the inherent complexity and diversity of plant root systems (Figure 2), the rhizosphere is not a region of definable size or shape, but instead, consists of a gradient in chemical, biological and physical properties which change both radially and longitudinally along the root. http://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/the-rhizosphere-roots-soil-and-67500617 RD

Accepted