Natures wonders: plant root fungal symbiosis (Introduction)

by David Turell , Tuesday, August 28, 2018, 20:41 (2277 days ago) @ David Turell

A vast majority of plants join with a fungus on their roots to create better absorption of nutrients, especially phosphorus:

https://phys.org/news/2018-08-leaf-molecules-markers-mycorrhizal-associations.html

"In nature, most plants establish mutual relationships with root fungi, so-called mycorrhiza. Mycorrhizal fungi facilitate the plants' nutrient uptake and help them thrive under extreme conditions. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, discovered that certain leaf metabolites can be used as markers for mycorrhizal associations. The discovery of foliar markers provides scientists with an easy-to-conduct tool to screen large amounts of plants for mycorrhizal associations without having to destroy them. This new tool could contribute to breeding more efficient and stress-tolerant crop varieties for sustainable agriculture.

"The relationship between plants and so-called arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi is considered to be one of the most important factors for the evolution of terrestrial plants. More than 70 percent of the higher plants establish an association with these fungi, which are believed to be more than 400 million years old. The mutualistic association allows the plant to better absorb nutrients, such as phosphate. Moreover, the symbiosis makes the plants more tolerant of biotic and abiotic stresses, such as insect attack, pathogens and drought.

"For plant breeders, mycorrhizal fungi are very important because global phosphate resources are limited. However, until now analysis of the fungal association was only possible by excavating the plant roots. This is not only time-consuming; it also destroys the plant.
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology and their partners have now found substances that accumulate in the leaves when arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi successfully colonize plant roots. It has been known for a while that these substances, so-called blumenol C derivates, are produced in the roots exclusively after colonization with the mutualistic fungi. However, until now, all attempts to find a reliable and specific leaf marker have failed.

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:Further experiments confirmed that the observed changes are related to root colonization mycorrhizal fungi. "The blumenols are most likely produced in the roots and then transported to other parts of the plants," Martin Schäfer explains.
Most ecological interactions are highly species-specific. However, the scientists were able to show blumenol accumulation in the leaf tissues of other plant species, including important crop varieties and vegetables. The ubiquity of markers in the shoot across distant plant families is likely due to the long common history of mycorrhizal fungi and plants, suggesting that theses markers play an important role for plants colonized with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi."

Comment: Land plants appeared relatively late during evolution. Animals forms were first. Since plants are stuck in one spot they can't wander around looking for nutrients. This might be a design from God.