James F. White -- The Rhizophagy Cycle: How plants get nutrients from microbes
Channel: Bionutrient Food Association
Date: 2021-10-26

The rhizophagy cycle involves bacteria and yeasts that are used by plants to obtain nutrients in soils. Plants cultivate microbes using root exudates (sugars, organic acids, amino acids, etc.) secreted into soils at root tips, then internalize microbes into root tip cells. Microbes internalized into root cells are subjected to root-produced reactive oxygen (superoxide) to extract nutrients from them. Superoxide causes microbes to lose cell walls and makes membranes leaky. Some of the microbes are completely degraded. Microbe cells that survive superoxide bombardment are replicated within root hairs and are ejected back into the soil from the tips of elongating root hairs. Once back in the soil, microbes obtain additional nutrients, then are attracted back to root tips by exudates. In the rhizophagy cycle, plants ‘farm’ soil microbes to obtain nutrients. How the rhizophagy cycle functions and its significance for crop cultivation will be discussed in detail.

2021 Soil & Nutrition Conference  -  https://soilandnutrition.org/
Hosted by the Bionutrient Food Association  -  https://bionutrient.org/