One protein controls how plant roots host helpful fungi
Zeng T, Gutjahr C
Mycorrhizal Networks
The fungal partnerships thriving in your garden soil right now, helping tomatoes and perennials pull in phosphorus, are being switched on and off by this single protein family, and understanding that switch could mean crops that need far less fertilizer.
Most plants team up with soil fungi that grow inside their roots and hand over nutrients in exchange for sugar, a relationship scientists call arbuscular mycorrhiza. This review pulls together new research showing that a protein called DELLA, already known for controlling plant growth hormones, also acts as the traffic controller for this fungal partnership: it tells root cells when to let fungi in, how to build the tiny tree-shaped structures fungi live in, and when to break those structures down. DELLA essentially sits at a crossroads, linking hormone signals and environmental cues to decide how much fungal partnership a plant allows.
Key Findings
DELLA, a GRAS-family transcription factor and known target of gibberellin hormone signaling, is required for arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in legumes and rice
DELLA regulates multiple stages of fungal colonization, including inner root cortex patterning and both the initiation and degeneration of arbuscules (the fungal structures inside root cells)
DELLA functions as a signaling hub that integrates hormonal and environmental inputs to control downstream genes driving symbiosis development
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists have identified a plant protein called DELLA as the master switch that controls how plant roots welcome and manage friendly fungi, a partnership that helps crops pull nutrients from soil.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
DELLA proteins orchestrate arbuscule accomodation.
Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) represents a key strategy for plants to overcome nutrient starvation. In legumes and rice, the development of this symbiosis requires the GRAS transcription factor DELLA,...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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