A clearer understanding of the interactions between fungi and bacteria that are beneficial to plants is an essential area relative to sustainable agriculture. In the context of a thesis project, the Joint Research Unit for Agroecology in Dijon and the Universita Del Piemonte Orientale studied the interactions between the fungus-bacterium couple on strawberry growth and quality.
The flavour of strawberries is determined by their sugar and acid contents
Strawberries have a sugar content that at ripeness can reach 500 mg per kg dry weight. Glucose, fructose and saccharose account for 99% of their total sugar composition. Sugar levels in strawberries are partly dependent on the FaSUt1 transporter. By inoculating strawberry plants with the fungus-bacterium couple, scientists were able to measure its impacts on the expression of this transporter and the sugar content of fruits.
Rhizophagus irregularis: a mycorrhizal fungus that is beneficial to strawberry growth
Glomeromycetes, fungi known for their arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis, live with a great many plants. Their effects have been observed not only on root systems but also on leaves, flowers and fruits. Thanks to nutritional exchanges between the fungi and the plant, this symbiosis impacts certain characteristics of fleshy fruits: contents in minerals, amino acids, antioxidants, carotenoids, sugars and volatile compounds.