Can a Fungus Save Plants from Global Warming?

It’s about time we put plants into the spotlight and focus on one of their most critical microbial partners: Fungi. Just like animals and humans, plants have their own microbiomes to help them stay healthy and provide them with nutrients. Some of these microbes are fungi that live inside the plant, and as new research is beginning to show, this symbiotic fungi can actually help certain plants deal with tremendous environmental stress. One of these plant species is a type of “panic grass” that lives in extreme temperatures around the geysers and hot springs in Yellowstone…but despite its name, this grass doesn’t panic, it has its fungi to keep it calm. A microbe called Curvularia Protuberata protuberata helps it survive in these intensely extreme living conditions. In this episode, Ed Yong talks with microbiologist Rusty Rodriguez about how fungus might help alleviate the impacts of climate change on food crops.

I Contain Multitudes is a multi-part video series dedicated to exploring the wonderful, hidden world of the microbiome. The series is hosted by science writer Ed Yong and produced by HHMI Tangled Bank Studios in association with Room 608.