# Plant roots have a clever way to tell good and bad fungi apart, even though they both give off the exact same molecules

Source: [Earth.com](https://www.earth.com/plants/plant-roots-have-a-clever-way-to-tell-good-and-bad-fungi-apart-even-though-they-both-give-off-the-exact-same-molecules/) · 2026-11-12 · Earth & Climate
Page: https://themorning.science/story/plant-roots-have-a-clever-way-to-tell-good-and-bad-fungi-apart-even-though-they-af433d20d7da0266
Kind: research · Impact: low

## In 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.

## Coverage

- [Plant roots have a clever way to tell good and bad fungi apart, even though they both give off the exact same molecules](https://www.earth.com/plants/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, 2026-11-12

Tags: plant biology, fungi, chitin, plant roots, crop health

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Brief generated by AI (claude-haiku-5-5) from the reporting listed under Coverage. Headlines belong to their publishers. The Morning Science – https://themorning.science