Research
Plant roots have a clever way to tell good and bad fungi apart, even though they both give off the exact same molecules
Earth.com · By Luis Arrais ·
The Brief
- Plant roots can distinguish helpful fungi from harmful ones, even though both give off the same molecules.
- Attacking and partner fungi are both built from chitin, a sugar chain, and fragments of it end up in the plant's surroundings.
- The source describes how the distinction works only in part, so details of the mechanism are not confirmed here.
Why it matters
It shows how plants can tell beneficial fungi that help with nutrient uptake from harmful ones, which is relevant to crop health.
Who’s affected
- plant scientists
- agricultural researchers and crop growers
- #plant biology
- #fungi
- #chitin
- #plant roots
- #crop health
A fungus growing on a crop sounds like bad news, but not all fungi are harmful. Plants also rely on helpful fungi to take up nutrients through their roots. Attackers and partners alike are built from the same material, a sugar chain called chitin. Fragments of it end up in the…