Root Economics - Between Do-It-Yourself Strategies and Fungal Outsourcing

Root economics Image Credit: © Authors of the study - International group of researchers with members from Freie Universität Berlin describes the growth strategies of plant roots. No 115/2020 from Jul 02, 2020 An international group of researchers with members from Freie Universität Berlin, the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), and Wageningen University, among others, has been studying the complex belowground economy of roots. Under the direction of Dr. Joana Bergmann (Freie Universität Berlin), the biologists describe in their study the different growth strategies found in root systems and how they "collaborate" with fungi. Their findings are based on the analysis of approximately 1,800 plant species from around the world and the specific traits of their roots. The research group found that the formation of the root growth often depends on symbiosis with fungi. This insight will help scientists better understand "root economics" and the adaptations and exchanges that take place belowground as well as how environmental changes affect these relationships. The study was published in the prestigious journal Science Advances .