Universidad
Politécnica de Madrid

29.04.2026

A team of researchers from the School of Agricultural, Food and Biosystems Engineering (ETSIAAB) at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and the Centre for Research into Biotechnology and Plant Genomics UPM-INIA published an article in the prestigious scientific journal New Phytologist to analyze the behavior of plant roots to face phosphorus scarcity.

Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for plants, but paradoxically, although present in many soils, it often remains inaccessible. Faced with this limitation, roots deploy sophisticated adaptation strategies. However, far from being a uniform response, what this study reveals is a much more complex level of organization: the roots function as a community of highly specialized cells, where each cell type responds differently to the scarcity of phosphorus.

Through high-resolution transcriptomic analysis of different cell types in the Arabidopsis root, researchers identified more than 7,000 genes whose activity changes when phosphorus is scarce. Most striking is that these responses are largely cell-type specific, suggesting that different root regions assume specific functions to optimize the uptake and management of this nutrient. Thus, adaptation does not depend on a single global response, but rather on the precise coordination between multiple cellular programs.

However, as detailed in this study, regulation is not limited to activating or deactivating genes. Cells also modify how these genes are processed through alternative splicing, a mechanism that allows for the generation of different versions of the same genetic message. This process acts in parallel and independently of transcriptional regulation, greatly expanding the plant's adaptive capacity. In fact, hundreds of specific splicing events were identified that affect key developmental processes and the stress response.

Furthermore, some classical regulators acquire new functions in this context. Transcription factors known for their role in the circadian clock, development, and hormonal signaling are reprogrammed under phosphorus-scarce conditions. Among these, the splicing factor SR45 stands out, emerging as a central element in the control of internal phosphorus distribution, directly affecting the balance between root and above-ground part.

The study also highlights the role of hormones such as abscisic acid (ABA), which help coordinate these responses at different levels, integrating environmental signals with developmental programs.

In the words of ETSIAAB researcher and professor Mary Paz González García, first author of this article: “These results paint a fascinating picture: far from being a passive structure, the root acts as a decentralized system in which each cell interprets the environment and adjusts its behavior accordingly. This ‘distributed cellular intelligence’ allows the plant to survive in adverse conditions and optimizes the use of limited resources".

Understanding these mechanisms not only expands our fundamental knowledge of plant biology but also has direct implications for agriculture. In the context of growing food demand and the need to reduce fertilizer use, unraveling how plants manage phosphorus could be key to developing more efficient and sustainable crops.

This work is the result of a collaboration between Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), through the CBGP (INIA-CSIC), and the University of Navarra and its BIOMA Institute (Institute of Biodiversity and Environment) and Department of Environmental Biology. Specifically, the following professors from our School of Biotechnology-Biology Plant and researchers from the CBGP participated: Mary Paz González García, Sara González Bodi, Miguel Ángel Moreno Risueño, Mónica Lanza Lucio, and Elena Caro Bernat; as well as CBGP researchers Victoria Baca González, Estefano Bustillo Avendaño, Laura Serrano Ron, and Juan Carlos del Pozo Benito.

The full article can be read at the following link.