[{"supplementarymaterial":"yes","doi":"10.1126/science.adw6568","external_id":{"pmid":["42424472"]},"publication":"Science","type":"journal_article","user_id":"2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","project":[{"grant_number":"101142681","name":"Cyclic nucleotides as second messengers in plants","_id":"8f347782-16d5-11f0-9cad-8c19706ee739"},{"grant_number":"P37051","_id":"7bcece63-9f16-11ee-852c-ae94e099eeb6","name":"Guanylate cyclase activity of TIR1/AFBs auxin receptors"}],"issue":"6807","scopus_import":"1","month":"07","language":[{"iso":"eng"}],"title":"Roots navigate around decay regions by sensing local pH gradients","publisher":"American Association for the Advancement of Science","date_published":"2026-07-09T00:00:00Z","author":[{"last_name":"Bao","first_name":"Zhulatai","full_name":"Bao, Zhulatai"},{"last_name":"Wang","full_name":"Wang, Huihui","first_name":"Huihui"},{"first_name":"Ai","full_name":"Zhang, Ai","last_name":"Zhang"},{"first_name":"Ruxi","full_name":"Gao, Ruxi","last_name":"Gao"},{"full_name":"Gu, Wen","first_name":"Wen","last_name":"Gu"},{"last_name":"Fan","first_name":"Ni","full_name":"Fan, Ni"},{"orcid":"0000-0002-8302-7596","id":"4159519E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","first_name":"Jiří","full_name":"Friml, Jiří","last_name":"Friml"},{"first_name":"Yuzhou","full_name":"Zhang, Yuzhou","last_name":"Zhang"}],"status":"public","intvolume":"       393","volume":393,"dataavailabilitystatement":"All data are available in the manuscript or the supplementary materials. The raw RNA-seq data have been deposited in the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) under accession number GSE315473. Microbiome sequencing data have been deposited in the Sequence Read Archive (SRA) under BioProject number PRJNA1397137. Materials are available upon request from the corresponding author.","publication_status":"published","pmid":1,"das_tickbox":"1","oa_version":"None","day":"09","citation":{"ista":"Bao Z, Wang H, Zhang A, Gao R, Gu W, Fan N, Friml J, Zhang Y. 2026. Roots navigate around decay regions by sensing local pH gradients. Science. 393(6807), eadw6568.","ama":"Bao Z, Wang H, Zhang A, et al. Roots navigate around decay regions by sensing local pH gradients. <i>Science</i>. 2026;393(6807). doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adw6568\">10.1126/science.adw6568</a>","mla":"Bao, Zhulatai, et al. “Roots Navigate around Decay Regions by Sensing Local PH Gradients.” <i>Science</i>, vol. 393, no. 6807, eadw6568, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2026, doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adw6568\">10.1126/science.adw6568</a>.","ieee":"Z. Bao <i>et al.</i>, “Roots navigate around decay regions by sensing local pH gradients,” <i>Science</i>, vol. 393, no. 6807. American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2026.","chicago":"Bao, Zhulatai, Huihui Wang, Ai Zhang, Ruxi Gao, Wen Gu, Ni Fan, Jiří Friml, and Yuzhou Zhang. “Roots Navigate around Decay Regions by Sensing Local PH Gradients.” <i>Science</i>. American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2026. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adw6568\">https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adw6568</a>.","short":"Z. Bao, H. Wang, A. Zhang, R. Gao, W. Gu, N. Fan, J. Friml, Y. Zhang, Science 393 (2026).","apa":"Bao, Z., Wang, H., Zhang, A., Gao, R., Gu, W., Fan, N., … Zhang, Y. (2026). Roots navigate around decay regions by sensing local pH gradients. <i>Science</i>. American Association for the Advancement of Science. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adw6568\">https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adw6568</a>"},"article_processing_charge":"No","publication_identifier":{"eissn":["1095-9203"],"issn":["0036-8075"]},"OA_type":"closed access","researchdata_availability":"yes","_id":"22315","quality_controlled":"1","acknowledgement":"We are grateful to H. Guo and L. Liu (Department of Biology, Southern University of Science and Technology) for providing the rgf1/2/3, rgi1/2/3/4, tpst-1, and pepr1/2 lines. We thank K.-h. Liu (College of Life Science, Northwest A&F University) for generously providing the ABA biosensor nlsABACUS2-400n. We also thank J. Li and J. Chang (School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University) for providing the ahk2-5/cre1-2, ahp1/2/3, arr16/arr17, and pTCSn::GFP lines. Our thanks further extend to D. Qian, also from the School of Life Sciences at Lanzhou University, for sharing Arabidopsis line pTUB6::mCherry-TUB6. We are grateful to Y. Zhao (CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences) for providing nced3/5, snrk2.2/2.3/2.6, and pyl duodecuple mutants. We also acknowledge the Teaching and Research Core Facility at the College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, particularly N. Fan, for their invaluable technical assistance. We also thank Life Science Research Core Services (LSRCS), Northwest A&F University, for helping with characterization, including CLSM (X. Liu). Fundamental and Interdisciplinary Disciplines Breakthrough Plan of the Ministry of Education of China JYB2025XDXM706 (Y.Z.); Qin Chuangyuan High-level Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent Program QCYRCXM-2022-237 (Y.Z.); Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities K20200168 (Y.Z.); National Natural Science Foundation of China 32570375 (Y.Z.); National Natural Science Foundation of China 32400699 (A.Z.); European Research Council (ERC, CYNIPS) 101142681 (J.F.); Austrian Science Fund (FWF): P 37051-B (J.F.).","abstract":[{"lang":"eng","text":"Plant tropisms enable roots to navigate complex soils by responding to directional environmental cues. Biological decay, although central to nutrient cycling, also creates microbially active and potentially hostile niches. In this work, we identified “saprotropism,” a previously unrecognized growth response that enables roots to actively bend away from decaying plant-derived matter. Fungal-driven microbial decomposition released organic acids and formed stable pH gradients in surrounding soil, allowing roots to pinpoint decay without direct contact. Root epidermal cells sensed this acidic gradient through the root meristem growth factor peptide-receptor module, converting external pH asymmetry into asymmetric abscisic acid (ABA) distribution. ABA asymmetry drove microtubule reorganization, which was decoded into decay-avoidant root bending. Together, these findings establish microbial decay–derived chemical gradients as an instructive signal for root navigation and expand the framework of microbe-soil-plant communication."}],"date_updated":"2026-07-14T08:11:55Z","department":[{"_id":"JiFr"}],"year":"2026","article_type":"original","article_number":"eadw6568","date_created":"2026-07-13T14:57:10Z"}]