Evidence for mycorrhizal cheating in Apostasia nipponica , an early‐diverging member of the Orchidaceae

What is it about?

Our isotopic and molecular approaches revealed that Apostasia nipponica, an early-diverging member of the Orchidaceae, gains carbon through both photosynthesis and fungal cheating (i.e., partial mycoheterotrophy or mixotrophy) at the adult stage. Mixotrophy might not be newly acquired but could instead be an ancestral trait among orchids.

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