The research article from the journal Science about plant science, focusing on how root exudates influence the assembly and spatial structure of the rhizosphere microbiome. Specifically, the article investigates the role of the root's endodermal barrier (the Casparian strip) in regulating the leakage of metabolites into the soil environment. The researchers found that disruptions in this barrier lead to significant leakage of the amino acid glutamine, which acts as a powerful chemoattractant and nutrient source for colonizing bacteria, thus defining localized areas of microbial colonization and proliferation. This discovery suggests that transient metabolite leakages are a previously uncharacterized driver of dynamic root-microbe interactions and that the endodermis is crucial for limiting excessive bacterial growth that could compromise plant health.
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