A travelling-wave strategy for plant–fungal trade

Loreto Oyarte Galvez, Corentin Bisot, Philippe Bourrianne, Rachael Cargill, Malin Klein, Marije Son, Jaap Krugten, Victor Caldas, Thomas Clerc, Kai-Kai Lin, Félix Kahane, Simon Staalduine, Justin D. Stewart, Victoria Terry, Bianca Turcu, Sander Otterdijk, Antoine Babu, Marko Kamp, Marco Seynen, Bas Steenbeek, Jan Zomerdijk, Evelina Tutucci, Merlin Sheldrake, Christophe Godin, Vasilis Kokkoris, Howard A. Stone (), E. Toby Kiers () and Thomas S. Shimizu ()
Additional contact information
Loreto Oyarte Galvez: Vrije Universiteit
Corentin Bisot: AMOLF Institute
Philippe Bourrianne: Princeton University
Rachael Cargill: Vrije Universiteit
Malin Klein: Vrije Universiteit
Marije Son: Vrije Universiteit
Jaap Krugten: AMOLF Institute
Victor Caldas: Vrije Universiteit
Thomas Clerc: AMOLF Institute
Kai-Kai Lin: AMOLF Institute
Félix Kahane: AMOLF Institute
Simon Staalduine: AMOLF Institute
Justin D. Stewart: Vrije Universiteit
Victoria Terry: Vrije Universiteit
Bianca Turcu: Vrije Universiteit
Sander Otterdijk: Vrije Universiteit
Antoine Babu: AMOLF Institute
Marko Kamp: AMOLF Institute
Marco Seynen: AMOLF Institute
Bas Steenbeek: AMOLF Institute
Jan Zomerdijk: AMOLF Institute
Evelina Tutucci: Vrije Universiteit
Merlin Sheldrake: Vrije Universiteit
Christophe Godin: Univ Lyon, ENS de Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, CNRS, INRAE, INRIA
Vasilis Kokkoris: Vrije Universiteit
Howard A. Stone: Princeton University
E. Toby Kiers: Vrije Universiteit
Thomas S. Shimizu: AMOLF Institute

Nature, 2025, vol. 639, issue 8053, 172-180

Abstract: Abstract For nearly 450 million years, mycorrhizal fungi have constructed networks to collect and trade nutrient resources with plant roots1,2. Owing to their dependence on host-derived carbon, these fungi face conflicting trade-offs in building networks that balance construction costs against geographical coverage and long-distance resource transport to and from roots3. How they navigate these design challenges is unclear4. Here, to monitor the construction of living trade networks, we built a custom-designed robot for high-throughput time-lapse imaging that could track over 500,000 fungal nodes simultaneously. We then measured around 100,000 cytoplasmic flow trajectories inside the networks. We found that mycorrhizal fungi build networks as self-regulating travelling waves—pulses of growing tips pull an expanding wave of nutrient-absorbing mycelium, the density of which is self-regulated by fusion. This design offers a solution to conflicting trade demands because relatively small carbon investments fuel fungal range expansions beyond nutrient-depletion zones, fostering exploration for plant partners and nutrients. Over time, networks maintained highly constant transport efficiencies back to roots, while simultaneously adding loops that shorten paths to potential new trade partners. Fungi further enhance transport flux by both widening hyphal tubes and driving faster flows along ‘trunk routes’ of the network5. Our findings provide evidence that symbiotic fungi control network-level structure and flows to meet trade demands, and illuminate the design principles of a symbiotic supply-chain network shaped by millions of years of natural selection.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08614-x

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