By IANS
London : Over millennia, trees and fungi have developed a delicate interdependence that allows both to flourish in adverse conditions, according to a new study.
The study, by researchers at Ghent University, Belgium, also suggests that understanding this interdependence could help us monitor climate change, a university press release said.
Trees grow better and faster when certain specialised micro-organisms interact with their roots. One of them is Laccaria bicolour, a soil fungus that draws on the sugars in the roots.
An international collaborative project, set up to characterise the genome of Laccaria bicolour, has now sequenced the DNA of the fungus.
Its DNA analyses has resulted in new knowledge, including the discovery of an arsenal of small proteins known as SSPs, secreted where the fungus and tree roots are in contact.
Now that the genome of the Laccaria bicolour as well as the poplar tree – with which it forms a relationship – have been fully sequenced, it is possible to find out exactly how tree and fungus cooperate and react to stress factors such as drought or extreme temperatures resulting from climate change.
This information could lead to concrete applications in which trees and fungi can be deployed to the benefit of both people and the environment.