Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Zenger
Zenger
Environment
Yulia Karra

Study: Bacteria Can Help Trees Survive Drought

Dr. Tamir Klein and Dr. Yaara Oppenheimer-Shaanan, who headed the tree and bacteria research. Weizmann Institute of Science researchers recently found that soil-beneficial bacteria can mitigate the effects of water scarcity, allowing plants to survive and even thrive during droughts. WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

Scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science recently discovered that soil-beneficial bacteria can help trees survive water scarcity and even flourish in drought conditions by offsetting the impact of the lack of water.

Researchers from the institute’s Plant Sciences Department grew cypress saplings in boxes filled with forest soil and placed them in a greenhouse. The cypresses were divided into two groups: the trees in the first group were regularly watered, while the second group was deprived of water. 

In each group, half of the cypresses were exposed to soil bacteria that had been collected from the Harel Forest, where the cypresses normally grow.

Dr. Tamir Klein and Dr. Yaara Oppenheimer-Shaanan, who headed the tree and bacteria research. Weizmann Institute of Science researchers recently found that soil-beneficial bacteria can mitigate the effects of water scarcity, allowing plants to survive and even thrive during droughts. WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

The scientists then examined the interactions between the trees’ roots and the bacteria using a multidisciplinary approach. They discovered that the bacteria help trees cope with water shortages and in return, benefit from tree root secretions.

They found the rate of secretions from the roots more than doubled in trees that were exposed to the bacteria, compared to trees that were not. The trees’ overall health improved as a result of the interaction. 

The study was led by Yaara Oppenheimer-Shaanan, a microbiologist in the lab of Tamir Klein, principal investigator in the Weizmann Tree Lab. Klein previously conducted research on how trees maintain symbiotic relationships with fungi.

Huge significance

“This has huge ecological significance,” said Klein. “Our study might have supplied the best evidence so far that trees and bacteria can really coexist symbiotically.”

In many places around the world, the summer of 2022 was one of the driest seasons on record. Parts of China, Europe, the Middle East, the Horn of Africa and North America endured severe droughts, and such extreme weather conditions are expected to increase as a result of climate change

According to Klein, the increasing prevalence of droughts creates an urgent need to understand the underground mechanisms that keep trees alive in extreme weather, to mitigate the rising mortality of trees in Israel and beyond. 

“We must support our forests. And if bacteria can support trees and we can understand how they do it, that’s an excellent starting point. If we lose forests, we will lose everything because the trees produce our oxygen, absorb carbon dioxide, clean the air and regulate the temperature,” he explained. 

Dr. Tamir Klein and Dr. Yaara Oppenheimer-Shaanan, who headed the tree and bacteria research. Weizmann Institute of Science researchers recently found that soil-beneficial bacteria can mitigate the effects of water scarcity, allowing plants to survive and even thrive during droughts. WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

“The next step is to determine the exact contribution of each bacterium or each group of bacteria, and which bacteria benefit which trees,” added Oppenheimer-Shaanan.

Produced in association with ISRAEL21c

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.