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#588 proteoid root
Request from collaborators at New Phytologist:
Proteoid root(s), also known as cluster roots isn't in the PO at present, almost certainly because although the PO now covers a wide range of plant types, proteoid roots are specific to one family of plants, the Proteaceae of the Southern Hemisphere.
I did a quick search of the literature and see that this term is also used for several species, including legumes such as Lupin. The cluster roots form as a response to phosphorous deficiency.
http://aob.oxfordjournals.org/content/85/6/921.short
http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/121/2/317
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11104-004-2725-7
from Watts and Evans, (Plant Physiology,1999): "We define a proteoid root as an entire root from any species that forms one or more clusters along its length. A cluster has closely spaced lateral roots (rootlets) of limited growth (Fig.1). The terms proteoid root, cluster root, and root cluster have all been used in the literature to describe either the proteoid root axis or clusters of rootlets, and caution should be taken when comparing studies because the definitions of these terms vary."
I think this is important to include as a term in the PO, as there are numerous studies concerning the mechanisms of formation, etc.