Reversible Root Tip Rotation in Arabidopsis Seedlings Induced by Obstacle-Touching Stimulus

In soil, downwardly growing plant roots frequently alter their growth direction to escape obstacles that lie in their paths. This response has been analyzed with a simple system that provides a constant obstacle-touching stimulus to root tips of young seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana . On the surface of agar plates, which were set at an angle of 45° to the vertical, the roots exhibit a wavy growth pattern that is caused by periodic reversion of rotation of the root tip. A set of mutants with abnormal wavy growth was used to demonstrate that at least six genes are involved in this stimulus-response interaction.