Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have succeeded for the first time in visualizing the network of plant roots and fungi in the soil. In this Quarks episode, Prof. Mutez Ahmed and his team explain how this helps make plants climate-resilient.
Quarks / WDR Fungi are key components of the soil ecosystem. Mycorrhizae help plants obtain water and nutrients. In turn, the fungi benefit from plant photosynthesis and the resulting carbohydrates. Prof. Mutez Ahmed and his team have developed a new method to visualize this network of plants and mycorrhizae as closely as possible to its natural state. Their goal is to investigate which type of symbiosis is particularly effective in protecting plants against drought stress.
In this segment, the researchers explain the imaging technique and its potential.
