Sometimes I come across an article that contains a discovery so fantastic that I wonder why I have not heard of it before. This is one of them and I am going to have to do a bit of research to make sure it is true because the discovery by Aussie scientists that plants are able to consume whole bacterium and yeast was made several years ago. You ever heard of it? The discovery was made sometime around 2013, so why not?

A little background: The process was named “rhizophagy” by the discovering scientists. A cell wall in the root literally engulfs the organism. Apparently the enzyme cellulase breaks open the wall. The question is where does this enzyme come from, the bacteria/ yeast or from the root?  Apparently, this has not been determined.

The organisms do not travel through the plant. However, nitrogen they produce does so apparently the plants are using the microbes for nutritional needs. The questions this raises are when and why and under what conditions does  rhizophagy occur? Ultimately, the question might be how do we use this to help us grow food?

Stay tuned. I am going to check this out some more when I get time. In the meantime, if  you have any info, drop me an email or leave a comment.

Teaming.