The evolutionary context of root epidermis cell patterning in grasses (Poaceae)

In the last century, the mechanism for establishing the root epidermal pattern in grasses was proposed as a differentiating trait that can be used in taxonomic studies and as a useful tool to indicate the relationships between genera. However, knowledge about root hair differentiation in monocots is still scarce. During the last few years, this process has been studied intensively, mainly based on genetics and histological studies. A histological analysis of the root epidermis pattern composed from root hairs (trichoblasts) and non-root hair cells (atrichoblasts), as well as observations of the mechanism of the establishment of this pattern allowed 2 different methods of epidermal cell specialization in monocots to be precisely described. Additionally, a recently published paper describing root hair development in barley shed new light on the evolutionary context of the mechanism of root epidermis cell specialization, which is discussed in the presented work.