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Study finds plants need active social lives to stay healthy

Published: 29 October 2015

STUDY FINDS PLANTS NEED ACTIVE SOCIAL LIVES TO STAY HEALTHY

Canadian plant science researchers in collaboration with Montreal-based Inocucor Technologies Inc. have discovered new clues about the active social lives of plants, which use molecular signals to engage in constant life-enhancing conversations with thousands of microbes in their ecosystem. “The phyto-microbiome is like a crowded party. You hear a din of conversation, but it is difficult to make out what any one person is saying,” said the study’s author and lead researcher, Donald L. Smith, chair of Inocucor’s Scientific Advisory Board and a plant science professor at SM.

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