Extraradical Hyphae of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Reduce Cadmium Accumulation in Maize by Altering Root Economic Strategies and Soil Solution Cadmium Speciation.
Li Y, Cao J, Yan J, Li H, Feng Y
Mycorrhizal Networks
The corn on your dinner plate may contain less toxic cadmium because of invisible fungal threads in the soil — and this research explains exactly how those fungi pull it off, pointing toward farming practices that keep those networks intact.
Tiny fungi that live on corn roots and spread thread-like arms through the surrounding soil turn out to be powerful bodyguards against a toxic heavy metal called cadmium. When scientists cut those fungal threads, cadmium flooded into the root zone and into the plant. The fungi appear to work by both changing how the metal behaves chemically in the soil and by shifting how the plant's own roots prioritize absorbing nutrients versus defending against toxins.
Key Findings
Disrupting the extraradical fungal network caused a 67.9% increase in cadmium concentration in the rhizosphere (root-zone) soil solution.
Intact fungal hyphae altered cadmium speciation in the soil, shifting it toward forms less available for plant uptake.
AMF presence changed the root economic strategy of maize, modifying root morphology and uptake behavior in ways that further reduced cadmium accumulation.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Fungal networks living in soil around corn roots act as natural filters that reduce how much toxic cadmium the plant absorbs. When researchers disrupted these fungal threads, cadmium in the root zone spiked by 68%, revealing that the fungi actively reshape both the soil chemistry and the plant's own nutrient-uptake behavior to block the metal.
Abstract Preview
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can mitigate plant cadmium (Cd) uptake through their extraradical hyphae, yet the underlying eco-physiological mechanisms remain unclear. Using a growth-core syst...
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Maize, also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. The leafy stalk of the plant gives rise to male inflorescences or tassels which produce pollen, and female inflorescences called ears. The ears yield grain, known as kernels or seeds. In modern ...