Enhanced Properties of Chitosan Microparticles over Bulk Chitosan on the Modulation of the Auxin Signaling Pathway with Beneficial Impacts on Root Architecture in Plants

IGLESIAS, MARÍA JOSÉ; PARÍS, RAMIRO; ÁLVAREZ, VERA ALEJANDRA; TERRILE, MARÍA CECILIA; CHEVALIER, ALBERTO ANTONIO; COLMAN, SILVANA LORENA; MARTÍN-SALDAÑA, SERGIO; CASALONGUÉ, CLAUDIA ANAHÍ

JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY

AMER CHEMICAL SOC

Año: 2019 vol. 67 p. 6911 - 6920

0021-8561

Improving the root system architecture (RSA) under adverse environmental conditions by using biostimulants is emerging as a new way to boost crop productivity. Recently, we have reported the characterization of novel chitosan-based microparticles (CS-MPs) with promising biological properties as rooting agents in lettuce. In this work, we demonstrated that in contrast to bulk chitosan (CS), which exerts root growth inhibition, CS-MPs promoted root growth and development from 1 to 10 μg mL−1 without cytotoxicity effects at higher doses in Arabidopsis and lettuce seedlings. In addition, we studied the mechanistic mode of action of CS-MPs in the development of early RSA in the Arabidopsis model. CS-MPs unchained accurate and sustained spatio-temporal activation of the nuclear auxin signaling pathway. Our findings validated a promising scenario for the application of CS-MPs in the modulation of RSA to respond to changing soil environments and improve crop performance.