Natures wonders: plant and fungus in symbiosis (Introduction)

by David Turell , Tuesday, January 07, 2020, 19:41 (1780 days ago) @ dhw

Another example:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200106141608.htm

"Like most plants, soybeans pair up with soil fungi in a symbiotic mycorrhizal relationship. In exchange for a bit of sugar, the fungus acts as an extension of the root system to pull in more phosphorus, nitrogen, micronutrients, and water than the plant could on its own.

"Mycorrhizal fungi occur naturally in soil and are commercially available as soil inoculants, but new research from the University of Illinois suggests not all soybean genotypes respond the same way to their mycorrhizal relationships.

***

"The process of root colonization starts before fungal spores even germinate in the soil. Roots exude chemicals, triggering spores to germinate and grow toward the root. Once the fungus makes contact, there's a complex cascade of reactions in the plant that prevents the usual defensive attack against invading pathogens. Instead, the plant allows the fungus to enter and set up shop inside the root, where it creates tiny tree-like structures known as arbuscules; these are where the fungus and plant trade sugar and nutrients.

"The study suggests there is a genetic component to root colonization rates in soybean. To find it, Pawlowski compared the genomes of the 350 genotypes and honed in on six genomic regions associated with differing levels of colonization in soybean.

"We were able to use all the information we have on the soybean genome and gene expression to find possible causal genes within these six regions," she says.

"According to the study, the genes control chemical signals and pathways that call fungus toward roots, allow the plant to recognize mycorrhizal fungus as a "good guy," help build arbuscules, and more. "For almost every step in the colonization process, we were finding related genes within those regions," Pawlowski says."

Comment: Both organisms benefit. How did this happen? Genes have to modified. That takes time unless it happens all at once due to God's action.