Coupled X-ray imaging/diffraction reveals soil mechanics during analogous root growth

James Le Houx; Daniel Mckay Fletcher; Alberto Leonardi; Katherine Anne Williams; Nancy Walker; Fernando Alvarez-Borges; Ebrahim Asfar Dizaj; Madhu Murthy; Ronan Smith; Liam Perera; Navid Aslani; Andrew James; Sharif Ahmed; Tiina Roose; Siul A. Ruiz

doi:10.1038/s44341-025-00021-7

Coupled X-ray imaging/diffraction reveals soil mechanics during analogous root growth

James Le Houx^*, Daniel Mckay Fletcher, Alberto Leonardi, Katherine Anne Williams, Nancy Walker, Fernando Alvarez-Borges, Ebrahim Asfar Dizaj, Madhu Murthy, Ronan Smith, Liam Perera, Navid Aslani, Andrew James, Sharif Ahmed, Tiina Roose, Siul A. Ruiz

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of the Environment and Life Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Soil compaction and escalating global drought increase soil strength and stiffness. It remains unclear which plant root biomechanical mechanisms/traits enable growth in these harsh conditions. Here, we combine synchrotron X-ray computed tomography with spatially resolved X-ray diffraction to characterize the biomechanics of a replica root-soil system. We map the strain field around the root tip analog, finding strong agreement with finite element simulations, thereby demonstrating a promising new in vivo measurement protocol.

Original language	English
Article number	17
Number of pages	8
Journal	npj Biological Physics and Mechanics
Volume	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s44341-025-00021-7
Publication status	Published - 3 Jul 2025

Keywords

UKRI
BBSRC
BB/X010147/1
BB/P004180/1
BB/L025620/1
EPSRC
EP/T02593X/1
EP/V038044/1
EP/M020355/1

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Coupled X-ray imagingFinal published version, 1.56 MBLicence: CC BY

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Le Houx, J., Mckay Fletcher, D., Leonardi, A., Williams, K. A., Walker, N., Alvarez-Borges, F., Asfar Dizaj, E., Murthy, M., Smith, R., Perera, L., Aslani, N., James, A., Ahmed, S., Roose, T., & Ruiz, S. A. (2025). Coupled X-ray imaging/diffraction reveals soil mechanics during analogous root growth. npj Biological Physics and Mechanics, 2, Article 17. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44341-025-00021-7

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abstract = "Soil compaction and escalating global drought increase soil strength and stiffness. It remains unclear which plant root biomechanical mechanisms/traits enable growth in these harsh conditions. Here, we combine synchrotron X-ray computed tomography with spatially resolved X-ray diffraction to characterize the biomechanics of a replica root-soil system. We map the strain field around the root tip analog, finding strong agreement with finite element simulations, thereby demonstrating a promising new in vivo measurement protocol.",

keywords = "UKRI, BBSRC, BB/X010147/1, BB/P004180/1, BB/L025620/1, EPSRC, EP/T02593X/1, EP/V038044/1, EP/M020355/1",

author = "\{Le Houx\}, James and \{Mckay Fletcher\}, Daniel and Alberto Leonardi and Williams, \{Katherine Anne\} and Nancy Walker and Fernando Alvarez-Borges and \{Asfar Dizaj\}, Ebrahim and Madhu Murthy and Ronan Smith and Liam Perera and Navid Aslani and Andrew James and Sharif Ahmed and Tiina Roose and Ruiz, \{Siul A.\}",

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month = jul,

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doi = "10.1038/s44341-025-00021-7",

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Le Houx, J, Mckay Fletcher, D, Leonardi, A, Williams, KA, Walker, N, Alvarez-Borges, F, Asfar Dizaj, E, Murthy, M, Smith, R, Perera, L, Aslani, N, James, A, Ahmed, S, Roose, T & Ruiz, SA 2025, 'Coupled X-ray imaging/diffraction reveals soil mechanics during analogous root growth', npj Biological Physics and Mechanics, vol. 2, 17. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44341-025-00021-7

TY - JOUR

T1 - Coupled X-ray imaging/diffraction reveals soil mechanics during analogous root growth

AU - Le Houx, James

AU - Mckay Fletcher, Daniel

AU - Leonardi, Alberto

AU - Williams, Katherine Anne

AU - Walker, Nancy

AU - Alvarez-Borges, Fernando

AU - Asfar Dizaj, Ebrahim

AU - Murthy, Madhu

AU - Smith, Ronan

AU - Perera, Liam

AU - Aslani, Navid

AU - James, Andrew

AU - Ahmed, Sharif

AU - Roose, Tiina

AU - Ruiz, Siul A.

PY - 2025/7/3

Y1 - 2025/7/3

N2 - Soil compaction and escalating global drought increase soil strength and stiffness. It remains unclear which plant root biomechanical mechanisms/traits enable growth in these harsh conditions. Here, we combine synchrotron X-ray computed tomography with spatially resolved X-ray diffraction to characterize the biomechanics of a replica root-soil system. We map the strain field around the root tip analog, finding strong agreement with finite element simulations, thereby demonstrating a promising new in vivo measurement protocol.

AB - Soil compaction and escalating global drought increase soil strength and stiffness. It remains unclear which plant root biomechanical mechanisms/traits enable growth in these harsh conditions. Here, we combine synchrotron X-ray computed tomography with spatially resolved X-ray diffraction to characterize the biomechanics of a replica root-soil system. We map the strain field around the root tip analog, finding strong agreement with finite element simulations, thereby demonstrating a promising new in vivo measurement protocol.

KW - UKRI

KW - BBSRC

KW - BB/X010147/1

KW - BB/P004180/1

KW - BB/L025620/1

KW - EPSRC

KW - EP/T02593X/1

KW - EP/V038044/1

KW - EP/M020355/1

U2 - 10.1038/s44341-025-00021-7

DO - 10.1038/s44341-025-00021-7

M3 - Article

SN - 3004-863X

VL - 2

JO - npj Biological Physics and Mechanics

JF - npj Biological Physics and Mechanics

M1 - 17

ER -

Coupled X-ray imaging/diffraction reveals soil mechanics during analogous root growth

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Keywords

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