{
  "id": 15960557,
  "title": "How rice coordinates signals to partner with beneficial soil fungi",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/how-rice-coordinates-signals-to-partner-with-beneficial-soil-fungi",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-21T22:20:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-10-rice-partner-beneficial-soil-fungi.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Rice plants forge partnerships with beneficial soil fungi to obtain vital nutrients, particularly phosphorus. However, the mechanisms by which such exchanges are coordinated remain unclear. A team of researchers led by Shu-Yi Yang at National Taiwan University has made strides in unlocking this mystery. Their work, published in Nature Communications, identifies a key protein, IDD7, which plays a crucial role in rice's response to these fungal partners.\n\nWhen fungal structures called arbuscules form within rice roots, IDD7 becomes strongly expressed in those cells. Plants lacking functional IDD7 struggle with fungal colonization and arbuscule development. However, when the gene is restored, these issues are resolved. The researchers further investigated how IDD7 functions and found it interacts with two other regulatory proteins, SLR1 and PHR2.\n\nSLR1 is involved in plant growth-hormone signaling, while PHR2 regulates responses to phosphorus availability. Together, IDD7, SLR1, and PHR2 amplify the activity of genes essential for fungal accommodation and nutrient exchange. Additionally, IDD7 can bind to DNA regions associated with symbiosis-related genes. This study provides a molecular foundation for understanding and potentially enhancing beneficial plant-microbe partnerships in agriculture.",
  "summary": "Most plants do not gather nutrients from the soil entirely on their own. Many form partnerships with microscopic fungi that grow inside their roots and extend into the surrounding soil. These partnerships, known as arbuscular mycorrhizal symbioses, help plants access nutrients, especially phosphorus. In return, the fungi receive carbon-rich compounds from the plants. But how does a plant…",
  "key_points": [
    "IDD7 protein crucial for rice-fungal nutrient exchange coordination",
    "IDD7 expression spikes when arbuscules form in rice roots",
    "IDD7 interacts with SLR1 and PHR2 to regulate symbiosis genes"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}