Identification of the key organ to plant growth promotion through enhanced weathering
February 6, 2026
Expecting to identify the genetic traits for adaptation to the CO2-reducing technology “enhanced weathering”
The RIKEN CSRS discovered that the formation of trichomes, often called plant hairs in some ways resembling white spines on the surfaces of plant stems, leaves, and flowers, is essential for plant growth promotion in soil containing powdered olivine.
Enhanced weathering is a technique that artificially accelerates rock weathering, attracting attention as one of the strategies to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. It could help not only reduce atmospheric CO2 but also enhance plant growth, thus it is expected to contribute to establishing an autonomous food security system.
The research group found the improved growth involving enhanced weathering in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The researchers further analyzed changes in the mineral accumulation and distribution, as well as changes in gene expression patterns within each plant body. They found that magnesium, abundant in olivine, is highly accumulated in trichomes and showed that trichome formation is associated with enhanced plant growth via the spreading of crushed olivine rocks.
The findings of this study revealed genes and metabolic pathways that enable plants to adapt to soil containing rock powder that facilitates the capture and sequestration of CO2 from the atmosphere. Further advancing the identification of those mechanisms will help achieve better outcomes, such as increased crop yields.
- Original article
- Journal of Plant Growth Regulation doi: 10.1007/s00344-026-12048-8
- M. Ueda, D. Todaka, S. Takahashi, J. Ishida, M. Tanaka, T. Ikeda, K. Suzuki, M. Miwa, T. Uchiyama, Y. Ishimaru, K. Sayama, N. Uozumi, S. Matsuyama, A. J. Nagano, H. Kikuno, M. Seki,
- "Requirement of trichome formation for the growth-promoting effects of olivine for enhanced weathering in Arabidopsis thaliana".
- Contact
- Motoaki Seki; Team Director
Minoru Ueda; Research Scientist
Plant Genomic Network Research Team
