Water-based root exudates of Molinia caerulea (L.) Moench disrupt root nitrogen metabolism in Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. seedlings with a fast negative effect on budburst

Key message

Molinia caerulea (L.) Moench has been observed to significantly reduce budburst in Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. seedlings through water-based M. caerulea root exudates. This suggests direct allelopathic effects between the two species. In terms of nutrient uptake, oak roots primarily take up nitrogen in the forms of ammonium and glycine. Interestingly, the application of root exudates from M. caerulea doubled the nitrate uptake in oak roots. Moreover, gene sets involved in nitrogen metabolism within oak roots exhibited strong deregulation when treated with M. caerulea root exudate, indicating that the interaction between these two plant species alters the nitrogen metabolism in the oak roots.

Keywords 
Allelopathy; Phenology; Nitrogen; Root uptake; Assimilation; Transcriptome

Publication 
Adamik, L., Balandier, P., Venisse, JS. et al. Water-based root exudates of Molinia caerulea (L.) Moench disrupt root nitrogen metabolism in Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. seedlings with a fast negative effect on budburst. Annals of Forest Science 82, 31 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13595-025-01306-6

Data availability
Supplementary data is accessible at https://doi.org/10.57745/HEZHBC.

Handling editor
Erwin Dreyer