Getting to
the Root — Unearthing the Plant-Microbe Quid Pro Quo
While the
flower may attract the bee and the admiring eye of the passerby, it is the unseen
complex network of life below ground where the action is. The microbial
community or microbiome that inhabits the rhizosphere and endosphere —the
niches immediately surrounding and inside a plant’s root—facilitates the
shuttling of nutrients and information into and out of the roots within the
soil matrix. This commerce, by enabling
the plant to adapt to its immediate environment, contributes to plant health
and growth, defense against pests, management of carbon and other elements for
the enrichment of the soil, and even informs the plant’s ability to sequester
contaminants.
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