Arabidopsis CNGC14 Mediates Calcium Influx Required for Tip Growth in Root Hairs

Root hairs create an enormous surface area to aid plants in nutrient and water acquisition, anchorage in the soil, and microbe interactions. Root hairs develop in two stages, including initiation and tip growth. Initiation occurs when a portion of genetically determined epidermal cells develop wall loosening and form a disc-shaped area of cell swelling. Tip growth happens after initiation when the root-hair “bud” elongates in a polarized fashion to eventually reach a tubular outgrowth with an apical dome (Grierson et al., 2014).