Silicification in Leaves of Sorghum Mutant with Low Silicon Accumulation

Purpose Silicon improves plants’ ability to tolerate stresses. It is taken up by roots as silicic acid, transported via the transpiration stream, and is unloaded in the shoot by specific silicon transporters. In grasses, silicon deposits may reach 10 % of the leaf dry weight. However, no molecular mechanism is known to control the deposition. Our purpose thus was to identify a sorghum mutant unable to absorb silicic acid and use it to study leaf silicification.