Volatiles from soil-borne fungi affect directional growth of roots.

ABSTRACT: Volatiles play major roles in mediating ecological interactions between soil (micro)organisms and plants. It is well-established that microbial volatiles can increase root biomass and lateral root formation. To date, however, it is unknown whether microbial volatiles can affect directional root growth. Here, we present a novel method to study belowground volatile-mediated interactions. As proof-of-concept, we designed a root Y-tube olfactometer, and tested the effects of volatiles from four different soil-borne fungi on directional growth of Brassica rapa roots in soil. Subsequently, we compared the fungal volatile organic compounds (VOCs) previously profiled with Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Using our newly designed setup, we show that directional root growth in soil is d

SUBMITTER: Moisan K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7821104 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature