rhizosphere

American  

[rahy-zuh-sfeer] / ˈraɪ zəˌsfɪər /

noun

1. the area of soil that surrounds the roots of a plant and is altered by the plant's root growth, nutrients, respiration, etc.

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rhizosphere British  

/ ˈraɪzəʊˌsfɪə /

noun

1. the region of the soil in contact with the roots of a plant. It contains many microorganisms and its composition is affected by root activities

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rhizosphere Scientific  

/ rī′zə-sfîr′ /

1. The soil zone that surrounds and is influenced by the roots of plants. Within the rhizosphere, roots secrete a slimy lubricating substance, called mucigel, that cause the particles of soil to adhere to the roots, assisting in the uptake of water, and encourages the growth of nitrogen-fixing bacteria and other beneficial microorganisms.

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Example Sentences

JGI led the metabolomics profiling of the leaf, root and soil environment, or rhizosphere, the plant root transcriptomics sequencing, and the soil rhizosphere and endosphere metagenomics work.

From Science Daily • Apr. 8, 2024

The rhizosphere, as this poorly understood microbiome around the roots of plants is called, is host to any number of beneficial bacteria and fungi, many of which have been commercialized as biofertilizers.

From Salon • Mar. 1, 2022

One species of bacteria that grows in the rhizosphere of birch roots is a fluorescent pseudomonad.

From Scientific American • May 4, 2021

Philippot, L., Raaijmakers, J. M., Lemanceau, P. & van der Putten, W. H. Going back to the roots: the microbial ecology of the rhizosphere.

From Nature • Oct. 31, 2017

Slowly, the benefits of the endophyte and rhizoid interactions for both partners led to present-day mycorrhizae; up to about 90 percent of today’s vascular plants have associations with fungi in their rhizosphere.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015