Evidence of a plant genetic basis for maize roots impacting soil organic matter mineralization

Abstract Maize root traits associated with soil organic matter (SOM) mineralization were demonstrated to have a heritable genetic basis. We show root length, root diameter and cumulative root-derived C mineralization to be strong predictors of SOM-C mineralization and identify two candidate genes associated with enhanced SOM-C mineralization rates. There is potential to target these genes to enhance release of nutrients from SOM to support crop nutrition within sustainable maize cropping systems.