PubMed · 2026-05-13
Mycorrhizal fungi can build networks, move nutrients, and sustain themselves for over a year without being connected to a plant root — they just need a fatty acid as fuel. This overturns the assumption that these fungi are wholly dependent on their plant partners to function.
When fed myristic acid (a fatty acid) without any plant host, AM fungal networks grew 10 times longer and covered up to 4 times more area than unfed controls.
Cytoplasmic flow speeds increased ~50% with myristic acid, with rare fast bursts reaching 10–30 µm/s; fluorescently tagged lipid flows averaged 3 µm/s and were unaffected by the carbon source.
Active cytoplasmic flows were detectable in asymbiotic fungal hyphae even one year after myristic acid application, demonstrating long-term autonomous viability.