Plant Science Research Weekly --  Not all arbuscules pull the same weight (Nature Communications) @jenmcgaley.bsky.social @paszkowskilab.bsky.social (Summary by Trevor Melusen) buff.ly/2Pdwhnj #PlantaePSRW

Not all arbuscules pull the same weight | Plantae

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi trade soil phosphate for plant carbon at arbuscules, the short-lived, branched hyphal structures they build inside root cortical cells, but how phosphate uptake is…

buff.ly

What if one organism could copy itself and merge with others, weaving vast living networks? Meet the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi 🦠 Cambridge researcher Dr Jennifer McGaley from @camplantsci has filmed these fungi in action for the very first time. Find out more 👉 https://bit.ly/4ghAynD

Very happy this is now published in full! Symbiotic phosphate transporter dynamics in rice expose functional plasticity of the arbuscules www.nature.com/articles/s41... A thread of some of our findings (and timelapses) below 🧵🔬🎥

Mid-week #mycorrhiza 🍄 Some hyphae, arbuscules and vesicles of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inside the root of a bramble, collected during a workshop at Wilburton Primary School, Cambridgeshire. And this was just the tip of the iceberg! #mycosky #microsocpy #fungi

Could fungi help grow rice more sustainably? 🍚 At the Crop Science Centre, Cambridge researcher Dr Emily Servante is working with Tilda and basmati farmers in India to develop a more environmentally friendly way of growing rice. Find out more: https://bit.ly/4dCvKWS 📸 Studio Charuau

Huge congratulations to Beverley Glover & Uta Paszkowski on being elected Fellows of the @royalsociety.org - a wonderful recognition of their significant contributions to plant sciences! 🎉 Read more: tinyurl.com/3vetucr4 @beverleycubg.bsky.social @paszkowskilab.bsky.social 🧪

We are excited to launch a new webinar series, Macro to micro: quantitative plant imaging across scales, organised by @ajcellbio.bsky.social and @joemckenna.bsky.social. Our first webinar will featured talks from @blace.bsky.social and Simon Gilroy. focalplane.biologists.com/2026/03/30/n...

AMF paris type arbuscules that coexist with wheat roots

the arbuscules of AMF

The first publication from the Dallaire and Kameoka labs is out! A forward-looking review on the status of mycorrhiza research in 2026, with emphasis on AM fungi doi.org/10.1111/nph.... @newphyt.bsky.social @ulaval.ca 🇨🇦

Status of mycorrhiza research in 2026

Mycorrhizal symbiosis improves the nutrition of most land plants and plays key roles in nutrient cycling and ecosystem function. To understand and leverage the biology of mycorrhizal symbioses for su...

doi.org

道端に生えているハルジオン（Erigeron philadelphicus）の根に共生するアーバスキュラー菌根菌。 アーバスキュラー菌根菌は特別な菌ではなく私たちの身近なところでも植物のパートナーとして存在する普遍的な存在。

Mid-week #mycorrhiza 🍄 A visit from an artist yesterday was the perfect excuse to spend some time admiring this very beautiful arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus: 𝘎𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢 (pictured here colonising rice roots) #mycosky #fungi #microscopy

Mid-week #mycorrhiza 🍄 A tangentially-festive sample this week: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonising the root cells of Ivy 🌿🎄☃️ #mycosky #festive #fungi

The arbuscules of arbuscular mycorrhiza

Mid-week #mycorrhiza 🍄 Motivated by a seminar from @tomthirkell.bsky.social, I've delved back into my image archives of mycorrhizal fungi in random plant species. This beautifully bunchy fungal arbuscule in a buttercup root needed sharing!🔬🏵️ #mycosky #fungi #microscopy #outreach

It's been a busy time in the Paszkowski lab! First, a pre-print on how rice distinguishes friend (AM fungi)🍄 from foe (pathogens)👾: doi.org/10.1101/2025... And second, a review on single-cell omic approaches to understand the spatially and temporally complex AM symbiosis 🔬: doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...

Defining the pre-symbiotic transcriptional landscape of rice roots

Plants interact with a plethora of organisms in the rhizosphere, with outcomes that range from detrimental to beneficial. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis is the most ubiquitous beneficial plant ...

doi.org

Did you know that over 90% of fungi are still unknown to science? 🍄 Join us at Fungi Field Day 2025 to discover more fungi facts! 📅 Sat 4 Oct | 10am – 4pm Talks, walks, crafts & more - free with normal Garden admission. To find out more: bit.ly/48ABVcS

🍄 Fungi Field Day is almost here! 🍄 Save the date: Saturday 4 October 🍄 Come along from 10am to 4pm Celebrate all things fungi with art, crafts, face painting, talks, forays and games - there's something for everyone! We look forward to welcoming you! 🌿 #CUBG #FungiFieldDay #CambridgeEvents

🍄 One month until Fungi Field Day 2025!! 🍄 Held on UK Fungus Day (4th October) @cubotanicgarden.bsky.social, this event celebrates the fungal kingdom, featuring science, games, walks, talks, face-painting and much more for all ages. Please spread the word! www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/whats-on/fun...

Spent last week at the microscope 🔬✨, and seeing arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi up close for the first time—hyphae, arbuscules, vesicles—was absolutely mind-blowing. Small but mighty partners of plant roots 🌿. Sharing a few of my favourite shots. #Mycorrhiza #fungi

Who lives underground? Find out now in our new paper published in @nature.com. Key finding: 90% of predicted mycorrhizal biodiversity hotspots lie outside protected areas. Read here: buff.ly/WmDqAP3 🧵

Beautiful microscopy of beautiful arbuscules

Takeshi Sentoku (千德 毅)@cl93.bsky.social · last yr.

The arum type arbuscules

What does colonisation tell us? Revisiting the functional outcomes of #root colonisation by arbuscular #mycorrhizal #fungi A #Letter by @frewecologist.bsky.social 👇 📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #LatestIssue

Uta Paszkowski expands on the arbuscular mycorrhizal theme with a cool spatial transcriptome method to better resolve dynamics during colonization of rice. Can see key transporter transcripts accumulating in arbuscules. #2025ISMPMI

Mid-week #mycorrhiza 🍄 From a primary school workshop: a mystery arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus in mystery plant. Sometimes fun to have no information about what you are looking at 🚸 #outreach #mycosky #fungi

How to teach kids (+ parents) the concept of mycorrhizal symbiosis? Here's a thread of things that we use @paszkowskilab.bsky.social 🧵 #outreach #fungi #plant #science

Paszkowski Lab@paszkowskilab.bsky.social · last yr.

Festival of Plants 2025: great atmosphere, lots of visitors, and so much enthusiasm for mycorrhiza! Next in the outreach calendar: the Fungi Field Day, 4th October, Cambridge University Botanic Gardens. Save the date! 🍄🍄🍄

A great letter from @frewecologist.bsky.social- very important and timely. And spot on that live imaging + the AMSlide is providing plenty of insights into this! More soon...🔬

Adam Frew@frewecologist.bsky.social · last yr.

We often measure AM fungal colonisation assuming it tells us something about function. But… what does it tell us? A short Letter where I ask what root colonisation really means for plant growth, P uptake, and defence. #Mycorrhiza #fungi #plantmicrobiome nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Mid-week #mycorrhiza 🍄 Just a particularly pretty arbuscule in a rice root cell colonised by the mycorrhizal fungus Rhizophagus irregularis, with a cool view down an intercellular hypha. Stained with WGA-Alexafluor488, imaged by CLSM, false-coloured by depth in root 🔥 #microscopy #mycosci #fungi

Nearly time for the Festival of Plants 2025!!! We'll be in the Pop-up Plant Science tent with microscopes, crafts, games and much more mycorrhizal fun🔬🖍️🎨🧩 @paszkowskilab.bsky.social @camplantsci.bsky.social @cropscicentre.bsky.social #mycosci #fungi #plants

Cambridge University Botanic Garden@cubotanicgarden.bsky.social · last yr.

🌿Festival of Plants 2025 - have you got your ticket yet?🌿Saturday 14 June 10am - 5pm. Join us for a day celebrating the fascinating world of plants. Free tours, interactive science, family fun, Ask the Gardener, food trucks & entertainment. Book now: bit.ly/3FbGEFU

New paper! The Increased Environmental Niche of Dual‐Mycorrhizal Woody Species. Ecology Letters: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... Dual-host woody species occupy a broader geographical range and environmental niche space compared to those associating exclusively with either AM or EM.

The Increased Environmental Niche of Dual‐Mycorrhizal Woody Species

Abiotic factors influence the global distribution of mycorrhizal host plants (ectomycorrhizal fungi and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi), raising the possibility that dual associations with both mycorrh...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com