Emmer wheat |
Download Episode (7.1 MB, 7.75 minutes)
Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Beijerinckia indica
Takeaways
As we have microbial communities in our guts, on our skin, and in various other places in and on our bodies, plants also have beneficial microbial symbionts around their roots, on their leaf surfaces, and even inside their tissues. These microbes can be bacteria, fungi, or other, and can help plants gather nutrients, resist diseases or pests, and other things.
In this study, some fungi living in grain plants—called endophytes, or "inside plants"—can help wheat tolerate drought and grow better with less water. Studying this system could lead to breakthroughs in wheat farming, all thanks to microbes.
Journal Paper:
Llorens E, Sharon O, Camañes G, García‐Agustín P, Sharon A. Endophytes from wild cereals protect wheat plants from drought by alteration of physiological responses of the plants to water stress. Environ Microbiol.
Other interesting stories:
- Searching bacterial metabolites for new insect repellants
- Antibiotic disruption of gut microbes can also mess with skeletal health
- Fibers derived from wood could encourage healthy gut microbes (paper)
Post questions or comments here or email to bacteriofiles@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, RSS, Google Play. Support the show at Patreon, or check out the show at Twitter or Facebook.
No comments:
Post a Comment