In:
eLife, eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd, Vol. 7 ( 2018-08-28)
Abstract:
All plants need a nutrient called phosphorus to grow and thrive. Phosphorus is found in soil, but the supply is limited so plants often struggle to acquire enough of it. To overcome this problem, many plants form friendly relationships (or symbioses) with certain fungi in the soil known as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. The fungi colonize plant roots and supply phosphorus and other nutrients in return for sugars and various molecules. Although many crop plants – including barley and potatoes – are able to form these symbioses, farmers commonly apply fertilizers containing phosphate and other nutrients to their fields to increase the amount of food they produce. Breeding new crop varieties that are better at forming symbioses with the fungi could reduce the need for fertilizers. However, the methods currently available to study these relationships are laborious and time-consuming, typically requiring samples of plant roots to be examined in a laboratory. Wang, Schäfer et al. used an approach called metabolomics to search for molecules in coyote tobacco plants that indicate the plants have formed symbioses with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. The experiments found that a group of molecules called blumenols accumulate in the roots and also in the shoots and leaves of plants with these symbioses, but not in the tobacco plants that were not able to associate with the fungi. Experiments in several other plant species including tomato, potato and barley produced similar findings, suggesting that the blumenols may be a useful and potentially universal indicator of symbioses between many different plants and fungi. Measuring the levels of blumenols in plant shoots and leaves is much quicker and easier than current methods of identifying fungal symbioses in plant root samples. Therefore, blumenols may be a useful tool for plant breeders who would like to screen large numbers of plants for these symbioses, and breed crops that negotiate better interactions with the beneficial fungi.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2050-084X
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.001
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.002
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.003
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.004
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.007
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.005
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.006
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.008
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.015
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.009
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.010
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.011
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.012
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.013
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.014
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.016
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.017
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.018
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.019
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.024
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.020
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.021
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.022
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.023
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.025
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.030
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.026
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.027
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.028
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.029
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.031
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.032
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.033
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.034
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.035
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.036
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.038
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.37093.039
Language:
English
Publisher:
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Publication Date:
2018
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2687154-3