Published On Jun 8, 2020
Laser scan of a root with plant in blue, symbiotic mycorrhizal fungus in red. You can see the fungi swelling and bursting within plant cells, where they release nutrients. By partnering, plants gain a prosthetic fungus and fungi gain a prosthetic plant. Both use the other to extend their reach.
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The plant is Voyria tenella, a non-photosynthetic species which depends entirely on its fungal partners for its nutrition. The sample was collected in a lowland tropical forest in Panama.
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The scan was made using confocal laser scanning microscopy with differential staining of plant and fungal tissues.
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Video © Merlin Sheldrake
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