Drought adaptation in spring wheat seedlings relies on coordinated deep root architecture and cortical tissue allocation

Introduction Root anatomical traits and spatial architecture play a critical role in crop water acquisition and utilization, directly impacting drought tolerance. However, comprehensive studies examining the synergistic effects of deep root configuration and cortical tissue organization under drought stress during the seedling stage remain scarce. Additionally, the underlying physiological mechanisms are not yet well understood. Methods In this study, we utilized a high-throughput, paper-based phenotyping platform to simulate drought stress using 10% PEG. An efficient, multi-trait evaluation framework was employed to classify the 28 tested genotypes into five drought tolerance categories. Results This approach enabled the identification of drought-tolerant cultivars “Ruichun 1,” “Ningchun 11,” and “Ningchun 57,” as well as the drought-sensitive cultivar “Dingxi 48.” Root traits, including maximum depth, convex hull area, and plant height, demonstrated strong explanatory power and could serve as valuable phenotypic indicators for seedling stage screening. Our findings suggest that drought adaptation in spring wheat involves a strategic coupling in which specific cortical configurations facilitate the development of deep root architecture. While previous studies have often focused on individual parameters, we show that drought-tolerant genotypes optimize root growth in deeper segments of the growth medium by adjusting cortical tissue proportions, potentially minimizing metabolic costs. Discussion This integrated perspective offers a detailed physiological framework for understanding drought resilience and moves toward a mechanism-based interpretation of resource reallocation. However, it is important to note that these results were obtained using a paper-based phenotyping platform under PEG-induced osmotic stress, reflecting the genotypic potential at the seedling stage rather than actual field drought tolerance. In conclusion, combining the paper-based high-throughput phenotyping platform with a multi-trait evaluation framework allows for the accurate classification of drought tolerance types and the efficient identification of representative spring wheat cultivars. The findings emphasize the importance of deep root configuration and optimized cortical allocation as fundamental components of the root structural basis for drought adaptation in spring wheat. These results provide clear phenotypic targets for early-stage screening, which should be further validated at later developmental stages and under field conditions before being applied in breeding programs.