MEDIA RELEASE – R00011 – 19 January 2017

It’s a match made in plant heaven.

Several years ago, Brock University researchers discovered that a certain type of fungus could potentially make a good natural fertilizer to replace the chemical-laden options that are typically used.

Now, the researchers have found that this nitrogen-supplying fungus is even more efficient because it can receive energy from the plants, making their relationship self-sustaining.
 
“It’s very exciting to have contributed to the greater understanding of these natural interactions,” said Professor of Biology Michael Bidochka of his team’s findings, published January 18 in the journal Nature Communications.
 
“It’s a great feeling to know that research like this can be applied to improving agricultural practices. Ultimately, our desire is to eliminate our dependence on chemical pesticides and if we can better exploit this natural phenomenon, we may be able to achieve our goal.”

In their original study, the researchers Bidochka, chemistry instructor Paul Zelisko and Scott Behie, discovered that the Metarhizium fungus kills bugs and transfers nitrogen from those bugs to the roots of plants. Published in 2012 in the journal Science, those findings were hailed as a breakthrough in the understanding of how nitrogen cycles through soil.

The new research — by the original team along with graduate student Larissa Barelli and others — reveals that plants, in turn, transfer carbohydrates back to the fungus.

“This brings the interactions of the fungus Metarhizium with its host plant full circle,” said Bidochka. “This is the other half of our earlier research.”

In addition to being plant food, carbohydrates are also food for the fungus.

“One of the most limiting resources for organisms living in the soil is free carbon,” said Bidochka, as the soil-dwelling fungus gets no sunlight from which to photosynthesize its food. “This fungus has figured out a way to get a good source of carbon.”

Scientists had documented that Metarhizium, a widespread and naturally occurring fungus, feasts upon more than 200 different kinds of soil-born insects, which are a source of nitrogen themselves.

Metarhizium is also a plant endophyte — meaning it lives inside the plant without causing any harm to its host.

In this latest round of research, the team took the fungus-plant relationship one step further.

“We said, ‘What’s in it for the fungus? Why does the plant allow the fungus to associate with its roots as an endophyte?” Bidochka said.

The researchers were able to trace carbon that the plant produced during photosynthesis in carbohydrates found in the Metarhizium fungus using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

The team’s paper, “Carbon translocation from a plant to an insect-pathogenic endophytic fungus” was published January 18 in the journal Nature Communications.

See more on the recently published research in The Brock News.

For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

* Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

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