Researchers found that a plant whose roots were modified through the application of beneficial bacteria increased the immunity of other plants through smell without contact. (image: Pixabay)
DAEJEON, Dec. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — A South Korean research team has found that plants can impact each other through smell without entering into physical contact.
A team from the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology said Thursday it had found that a plant whose roots were modified through the application of beneficial bacteria increased the immunity of other plants through smell without contact.
After applying beneficial bacteria to the roots of a tomato plant, the research team observed the growth of another tomato plant right next to it.
Despite not having been modified with the beneficial bacteria, the other tomato plant also showed an improvement in overall growth.
The research team found that the modified tomato plant transmitted a special volatile substance through the air to the other plant, creating a substance called salicylic acid in the latter’s roots. Salicylic acid is a substance that plants create when are stressed.
Salicylic acid increased the diversity of microbes in the roots of the other tomato plant, creating microbes similar to the ones in the roots of the modified plant.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
