Oklahoma Farm Report - Fungi play a critical role in the growth and development of plant life and have for millions of years. Scientists have known for a long time that arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi that live in harmony with about 90% of land plants and play a key role in their root systems are responsible for carrying needed phosphate to plants to help growth.
Now, however, thanks to a discovery by a team of scientists from Texas Tech University's Institute of Genomics for Crop Abiotic Stress Tolerance (IGCAST) in the Department of Plant and Soil Science, and the Nanjing Agricultural University's State Key Laboratory of crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, that symbiotic role may go even further.