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Coupled x-ray imaging/diffraction reveals soil mechanics during analogous root growth

Coupled x-ray imaging/diffraction reveals soil mechanics during analogous root growth
Coupled x-ray imaging/diffraction reveals soil mechanics during analogous root growth
Soil compaction and escalating global drought increase soil strength and stiffness. It remains unclear which plant root biomechanical mechanisms/traits enable growth in these harsh conditions. Here, we combine synchrotron X-ray computed
tomography with spatially resolved X-ray diffraction to characterize the biomechanics of a replica root-soil system. We map the strain field around the root tip analogue, finding strong agreement with finite element simulations, thereby demonstrating a promising new in-vivo measurement protocol.
Le Houx, James
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Mckay Fletcher, Daniel
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Leonardi, Alberto
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Williams, Katherine Anne
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Walker, Nancy
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Alvarez-Borges, Fernando
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Afsar Dizaj, Ebrahim
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Murthy, Madhu
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Smith, Ronan
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Perera, Liam
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Aslani, Navid
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James, Andrew
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Ahmed, Sharif
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Roose, Tiina
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Ruiz, Siul
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Le Houx, James
7e4cd087-ae04-4102-932d-3f7cd60d8d70
Mckay Fletcher, Daniel
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Leonardi, Alberto
547f7176-a4a7-438e-bfcd-92eef4342351
Williams, Katherine Anne
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Walker, Nancy
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Alvarez-Borges, Fernando
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Afsar Dizaj, Ebrahim
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Murthy, Madhu
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Smith, Ronan
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Perera, Liam
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Aslani, Navid
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James, Andrew
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Ahmed, Sharif
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Roose, Tiina
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Ruiz, Siul
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Le Houx, James, Mckay Fletcher, Daniel, Leonardi, Alberto, Williams, Katherine Anne, Walker, Nancy, Alvarez-Borges, Fernando, Afsar Dizaj, Ebrahim, Murthy, Madhu, Smith, Ronan, Perera, Liam, Aslani, Navid, James, Andrew, Ahmed, Sharif, Roose, Tiina and Ruiz, Siul (2025) Coupled x-ray imaging/diffraction reveals soil mechanics during analogous root growth. npj Biological Physics and Mechanics, 2, [17]. (doi:10.1038/s44341-025-00021-7).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Soil compaction and escalating global drought increase soil strength and stiffness. It remains unclear which plant root biomechanical mechanisms/traits enable growth in these harsh conditions. Here, we combine synchrotron X-ray computed
tomography with spatially resolved X-ray diffraction to characterize the biomechanics of a replica root-soil system. We map the strain field around the root tip analogue, finding strong agreement with finite element simulations, thereby demonstrating a promising new in-vivo measurement protocol.

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Coupled_X_ray_imaging_diffraction_reveals_soil_mechanics_during_analogous_root_growth (1) - Accepted Manuscript
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Accepted/In Press date: 15 May 2025
e-pub ahead of print date: 3 July 2025
Published date: 3 July 2025
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Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 504131
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/504131
DOI: doi:10.1038/s44341-025-00021-7
PURE UUID: 361c6eb2-61c2-4232-b579-b1f1049474d3
ORCID for Daniel Mckay Fletcher: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-6569-2931
ORCID for Katherine Anne Williams: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-6827-9261
ORCID for Fernando Alvarez-Borges: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-6940-9918
ORCID for Ebrahim Afsar Dizaj: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7755-9983
ORCID for Madhu Murthy: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2570-5934
ORCID for Ronan Smith: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-5748-9295
ORCID for Tiina Roose: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-8710-1063

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 26 Aug 2025 16:54
Last modified: 19 May 2026 02:03

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Contributors

Author: James Le Houx
Author: Daniel Mckay Fletcher ORCID iD
Author: Alberto Leonardi
Author: Katherine Anne Williams ORCID iD
Author: Nancy Walker
Author: Fernando Alvarez-Borges ORCID iD
Author: Ebrahim Afsar Dizaj ORCID iD
Author: Madhu Murthy ORCID iD
Author: Ronan Smith ORCID iD
Author: Liam Perera
Author: Navid Aslani
Author: Andrew James
Author: Sharif Ahmed
Author: Tiina Roose ORCID iD
Author: Siul Ruiz

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