Zinc deficiency and toxicity: How they reshape the Laccaria bicolor x Populus symbiosis
Mycorrhizal Networks
Poplar trees planted along roadsides and in contaminated urban soils face wildly fluctuating zinc levels — understanding how their fungal partners cope (or fail) could determine whether those trees survive long enough to clean the soil.
Poplar trees form a close partnership with a soil fungus that helps them absorb water and nutrients. Scientists found that when zinc in the soil is either too scarce or too abundant, this partnership breaks down in different ways — the fungus and tree change how they communicate and share resources. Getting zinc levels right turns out to be critical for keeping this helpful relationship intact.
Key Findings
Both zinc deficiency and zinc toxicity impair the mutualistic symbiosis between Laccaria bicolor fungus and Populus (poplar) trees, but through distinct molecular pathways
Zinc stress alters gene expression and nutrient exchange at the fungus-root interface, reshaping how carbon and mineral nutrients flow between partners
The symbiosis shows differential sensitivity to zinc shortage versus zinc excess, suggesting the partnership has separate tolerance mechanisms for each condition
chevron_right Technical Summary
Researchers studied how too little or too much zinc changes the relationship between a beneficial fungus (Laccaria bicolor) and poplar trees. Both extremes disrupt the partnership, altering how nutrients and stress signals are exchanged between fungus and tree root.
Species Mentioned
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Populus is a genus of 25–30 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar, aspen, and cottonwood.