Blushing Plants Reveal When Fungi Are Growing in Their Roots
Published:27 Jul.2021 Source:University of Cambridge
Almost all crop plants form associations with a particular type of fungi -- called arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi -- in the soil, which greatly expand their root surface area. This mutually beneficial interaction boosts the plant's ability to take up nutrients that are vital for growth.
The more nutrients plants obtain naturally, the less artificial fertilisers are needed. Understanding this natural process, as the first step towards potentially enhancing it, is an ongoing research challenge. Progress is likely to pay huge dividends for agricultural productivity. In a study published in the journal PLOS Biology, researchers used the bright red pigments of beetroot -- called betalains -- to visually track soil fungi as they colonised plant roots in a living plant.