Aboveground vertebrates can alter belowground communities in myriad ways. While most research has focused on plant-mediated affects, on pages 364–374, Kanji Tomita and colleagues show that aboveground vertebrates directly impact belowground communities and ecological functions via both consumptive and non-consumptive processes. This enables a mechanistic understanding of the biogeochemical roles of wildlife on processes such as carbon cycling that are mediated by belowground communities. The cover shows brown bears (Ursus arctos) digging for cicada nymphs, which modifies the soil physical structure. Photo credit: Shiretoko Nature Foundation Link

Ejiri and Shiono. (March 2025, Vol. 90, Issue 1, Pages 1–2). The cover figure presents confocal microscopy images of suberin deposits (yellow) at the exodermis and the endodermis in root cross-sections of cultivated rice (left) and O. glumaepatula (right). The suberin is stained with Fluorol Yellow 088 (pp. 1-2).

Shiono and Matsuura. (June 6, 2024, Vol. 133, Issue 7,6, Pages 931-940). The cover image shows an artificially induced apoplastic barrier at the hypodermis/exodermis in the outer part of roots (OPRs) of barley by applying abscisic acid (ABA). An apoplastic tracer (periodic acid), visualized as purple, was blocked at the outside of the hypodermis/exodermis under aerated conditions with ABA application. Most dryland crops, including barley, do not form a root apoplastic barrier in the OPRs. In this issue, Shiono and Matsuura demonstrate that apoplastic transport barriers in the OPRs can be induced in such crops by exogenous ABA applications.

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塩野・平 (2020, Vol. 55, No. 2, Pages 84-91). ムラサキツユクサの葉におけるアブシシン酸の分布イメージ。乾燥ストレスによりアブシシン酸が気孔に蓄積することはよく知られた現象である。しかし、アブシシン酸分子そのものを、ラベル化や形質転換することなく、直接的に局在を同定することはできなかった。生体上の分子の局在を高空間分解能に検出できる「質量分析イメージング」はアブシシン酸を含む複数の植物ホルモンの同時イメージングを実現する手法として展開が期待される。

Shiono et al. (September 6, 2017, Vol. 65, Issue 35, Pages 7599-7826). An understanding of the dynamics of plant hormones is not only very interesting for fundamental science but also useful for agriculture and commerce. In this study, we revealed the detailed localization of cytokinin and abscisic acid in roots of Oryza sativa using mass spectrometry imaging. 

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Shiono et al. (January 2011, Vol. 107, Issue 1, Pages 89–99). The inset cover image shows roots of rice with suberin lamellae visualized by fluorescence before (left) or after (right) forming a barrier to radial oxygen loss in response to non-aerated conditions. The formation of the barrier enhances internal O2 diffusion to the root apex, and its induction occurs before histochemically detectable changes in putative suberin and lignin deposits can be seen. See Shiono et al. (pp. 89-99).

Katsuhiro Shiono, Masato Ejiri, Yuto Sawazaki, Yuka Egishi, Tomonori Tsunoda. (Plant Physiology, In Press). Low nitrate concentrations, which occur after molecular oxygen is consumed in waterlogged soils, are an environmental trigger for forming the root barrier to radial oxygen loss in rice roots.

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Katsuhiro Shiono, Akiko Koshide, Kazunari Iwasaki, Kazumasa Oguri, Takeshi Fukao, Morten Larsen, Ronnie N. Glud. (Frontiers in Plant Science, July 29, 2022 Volume 13, 946776). Imaging the snorkel effect during submerged germination in rice: Oxygen supply via the coleoptile triggers seminal root emergence underwater.

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Katsuhiro Shiono, Marina Yoshikawa, Tino Kreszies, Sumiyo Yamada, Yuko Hojo, Takakazu Matsuura, Izumi Mori, Lukas Schreiber, Toshihito Yoshioka. (New Phytologist, 2022, 233(2), 655-669). Abscisic acid is required for exodermal suberization to form a barrier to radial oxygen loss in the adventitious. 

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