Close-up of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi connecting roots of plant hostsIMAGE COURTESY OF YOSHIHIRO KOBAE
Nutrient exchanges between plant and fungal symbionts are relatively fair, with partners that provide the most resources being rewarded with more nutrients in return. The findings, published this week in Science, point to a reciprocity in mycorrhizal interactions uncommon among this type of symbiosis.
The study suggests “that control in this mutualism is reciprocal,” Alastair Fitter, a professor at the University of York who did not participate in this research, told The Scientist in an email, and “that the widely accepted view that the plant controls the symbiosis is wrong.”
Mycorrhizae are mutualistic associations between plants and fungi, in which plants trade carbohydrates for nutrients, such as phosphorous and ntrogen, and other benefits provided by the fungi. As the researchers point out in their study, ...
