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• Root waving responses have been attributed to both environmental and genetics factors, but the potential inducers and transducers of root waving remain elusive. Thus, the identification of novel signal elements related to root waving is an intriguing field of research. • Genetic, physiological, cytological, live cell imaging, and pharmacological approaches provide strong evidence for the involvement of Arabidopsis thaliana NITRIC OXIDE-ASSOCIATED PROTEIN1 (AtNOA1) in salicylic acid (SA)-induced root waving. • SA specially induced root waving, with an overall decrease in root elongation in A. thaliana, and this SA-induced response was disrupted in the Atnoa1 mutant, as well as in nonexpresser of pathogenesis-related genes 1 (npr1), which is defective in SA-mediated plant defense signal transduction, but not in npr3/4 single and double mutants. The expression assays revealed that the abundance of AtNOA1 was significantly increased by application of SA. Genetic and pharmacological analyses showed that SA-induced root waving involved an AtNOA1-dependent Ca2+ signal transduction pathway, and PIN-FORMED2 (PIN2) -based polar auxin transport possibly plays a crucial role in this process. • Our work suggests that SA signaling through NPR1 and AtNOA1 is involved in the control of root waving, which provides new insights into the mechanisms that control root growth behavior on a hard agar surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]