#saprotropism
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How do roots avoid growing in an unhealthy direction?

Jiří Friml of @istaresearch.bsky.social describes a newly identified root response, called saprotropism, showing how plants sense acidity changes in the soil and adjust their growth direction accordingly.

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July 12, 2026 at 11:31 AM
nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social
So little we understand about sophisticated #biodiversity we're trashing,

"Microorganisms, especially fungi, release acidic metabolites. Roots can detect this acidity pattern even before direct contact and use it as directional information"
phys.org/news/2026-07...
Newly identified 'saprotropism' helps roots avoid decaying plant matter—but not animal decay
Decaying matter shapes life in soil, but it can also create hostile zones for growing roots. Professor Jiří Friml of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and international collaborat...
phys.org
July 10, 2026 at 10:34 AM
istaresearch.bsky.social
Roots avoid plant rot. 🌱 Researchers including ISTA’s Jiří Friml ‪@frimllab.bsky.social​ newly identified “saprotropism”: roots bend away from decaying plant matter—but not animal decay—by sensing acidic pH gradients in soil. Published in @science.org​.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4aJkuY9
Plants bend their roots away from a rotten apple, leaf, and even sawdust. The response was observed not only in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, but also in crop species including rapeseed, tomato, and wheat—suggesting that saprotropism is widespread among plants. © Bao et al. / Science Fungi and other microbes break down dead plant material in the soil. By doing so, they release acidic chemicals that spread outward like a warning signal. Nearby roots sense this acidic zone before touching the decay and bend away from it. © Bao et al. / Science ISTA Professor Jiří Friml with the mouse-ear cress (A. thaliana) — his research group’s main model organism. © FWF/Luiza Puiu
July 9, 2026 at 6:00 PM
rando.insalubrio.us
Plant roots can sense and grow away from decaying plant material through a newly described response called saprotropism, which is triggered by pH changes during decomposition! 🧪

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
This figure depicts rotting decay between the roots of two plants. The roots are diverging away from this spot of rot. Fungi and other microbes break down dead plant material in the soil. By doing so, they release acidic chemicals that spread outward like a warning signal. Nearby roots sense this acidic zone before touching the decay and bend away from it.
July 11, 2026 at 12:05 PM
thenorfolkcoast.bsky.social
Newly identified 'saprotropism' helps roots avoid decaying plant matter—but not animal decay...

phys.org/news/2026-07...
Newly identified 'saprotropism' helps roots avoid decaying plant matter—but not animal decay
Decaying matter shapes life in soil, but it can also create hostile zones for growing roots. Professor Jiří Friml of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and international collaborat...
phys.org
July 10, 2026 at 11:30 AM
sciencex.bsky.social
Roots bend away from decaying plant matter before they touch it, using local acidity gradients as a cue. The same directional response did not appear with animal-derived decay.
Newly identified 'saprotropism' helps roots avoid decaying plant matter—but not animal decay
Decaying matter shapes life in soil, but it can also create hostile zones for growing roots. Professor Jiří Friml of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and international collaborators have now identified "saprotropism," a root response that guides plants away from decaying plant-derived matter—but not animal-derived decay.
phys.org
July 9, 2026 at 6:00 PM
proseandpassion.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
9-Jul-2026
#roots steer clear of plant rot
Newly identified #saprotropism helps roots avoid decaying plant matter—but not animal decay

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1134926

#science #plants #plantphysiology #soil
Roots steer clear of plant rot
Decaying matter shapes life in soil, but it can also create hostile zones for growing roots. Professor Jiří Friml of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and international collaborators have now identified “saprotropism,” a root response that guides plants away from decaying plant-derived matter—but not animal-derived decay. The study, led by Yuzhou Zhang, Professor at Northwest A&F University in China and published in Science, reveals how roots adapt their growth direction by sensing local pH gradients around rot.
www.eurekalert.org
July 10, 2026 at 3:35 PM
idw-online.de
Roots steer clear of plant rot: Newly identified ‘saprotropism’ helps roots avoid decaying plants — but not animal decay
Decaying matter shapes life in soil, but it can also create hostile zones for growing roots. Professor Jiří Friml of...
weiterlesen
Fungi and other microbes break down dead plant material in the soil. By doing so, they release acidic chemicals that spread outward like a warning signal. Nearby roots sense this acidic zone before touching the decay and bend away from it. - Copyright © Bao et al. / Science
July 9, 2026 at 6:00 PM
mplantpcom.bsky.social
Root saprotropism: A novel tropism for navigating decay in the soil #commentary #PlantCommunications cell.com/plant-commun...
August 22, 2026 at 3:11 PM
jeffdean-uga.bsky.social
Roots navigate around decay regions by sensing local pH gradients www.sciencemagazinedigital.org/sciencemagaz...
Illustration depicting a molecular framework for root saprotropism guiding navigation around microbial decay. Microbial decay establishes a soil microenvironment characterized by stable acidic pH gradients. This pH asymmetry is sensed by the epidermal pH sensor, RGF-RGFR peptidereceptor module, which converts it into asymmetric ABA distribution. ABA asymmetry drives microtubule-dependent anisotropic cell expansion and handed root twisting, ultimately steering roots away from hostile decay zones.
July 10, 2026 at 1:51 PM
longtail-news.bsky.social
Feed: "Science"
By: SCIENMAG on Thursday, July 9, 2026
Plant Roots Avoid Rot by Steering Clear of Infected Areas
Researchers have uncovered a novel plant tropism—termed saprotropism—that guides roots to actively avoid zones of decaying plant matter. This discovery, led by scientists at the Institute of Sci
scienmag.com
July 9, 2026 at 9:48 PM