The Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Creationism (2023)

corrhizal symbiosis occurs within a host plant. They are perception, transmission, and transcription. These stages correspond to Hennigan et al.’s (2022) authentication, protocols, and common media requirements for an interface. The perception stage begins when a plant deprived of phosphorus (P) releases plant hormones called strigolactones into the rhizosphere medium of the soil. The AM fungi perceive these hormones and identify the host plant, which leads to the increase in hyphal growth. Fungi will also produce signaling molecules (myc factors) such as chitin oligomers and lipochitooligosaccharides. The transmission stage begins when these myc factors are perceived by the host plant, which activate the common symbiosis pathway. This message is relayed from the plasma membrane to the nucleus through a series of messenger molecule interactions. The protocols for the transcription stage are the programmed information found in specific proteins and genes necessary for symbiosis. One example is the Gene OsD14, which increases fungal colonization. Sometimes, the mutualistic relationship with AM fungi and their host plants can turn parasitic. The relationship is not strictly reciprocal and can change depending on environmental conditions (Walder and van der Heijden 2015). Kogel et al. (2006) describe parasitism in a plant-fungal interaction as an unbalanced symbiosis due to unequal nutrient transfer. Certain environmental conditions can corrupt or change media conditions affecting interface function. Neuhauser and Fargione (2004) found that low soil Phosphorus (P) promotes a mutual relationship between the plant and fungal partner. However, if the soil is fertile, the plant no longer relies on the fungi for nutrients and fungi may cheat the plant by taking nutrients from it. Is this an example of cheating or is it consistent with God creating plants as food for other organisms when plants are thriving in high fertility soil? Walder and van der Heijden (2015) note that resource exchange from the fungus can increase in plants that have a strong sink strength, however, the sink strength of the plant can depend on the efficiency of the plant-fungal interface to exchange these nutrients. If the plant-fungal interface is not functioning properly, resources from the AM fungi may not be transferred to the plant, and it can seem that the fungi is parasitizing the plant. This protocol malfunction is expected in a Fallen world and fits our creation model of symbiotic relationships. The authors also point out the difficulty in determining if a plant is benefiting or being harmed from a mycorrhizal association because of the relational complexity. AM fungi form vast, interconnected networks that have associations with many plants and can provide benefits other than nutrient provision. These other benefits could make up for inadequate nutrient provision from the fungi, and the relationship could be labeled as a conditional mutualism. Lanfranco et al. (2018) discuss possible mechanisms that can affect the type of symbiotic relationship between AM fungi and their host plants. The symbiotic relationship between plants and AM fungi greatly depends on the exchange of nutrients, and these nutrients can act as important signals in the development of the relationship. Sugar is taken from the plant by the fungus, and an important fungal gene involved in this uptake is RiMST2. If this gene is silenced, the result is decreased fungal colonization and reduced arbuscular branching. Both the plant and fungi have genes called PT genes that are important for P transfer, and if these genes are altered or silenced, the fungus arbuscule lifetime can be shortened. This helps ensure the plant receives P from the fungus and could be a mechanism used by the plant to prevent fungal parasitism. At high P levels, the plant can release phytohormones that reduce AM colonization. It has also been shown that lipid transfer from plant to fungus is important for continuing the relationship (Lanfranco et al. 2018, Wang et al. 2017). Lipids play an important role in the composition of the arbuscular membrane where the interface lies, which affects the functionality of proteins involved in nutrient and signal exchange (Kameoka and Gutjahr 2022). For example, a lipid biosynthesis gene only found in AM host plants is the FatM gene, and when it mutates, reduces fungal colonization and arbuscular branching (Roth and Paszkowski 2017). Roth and Paszkowski (2017) argue that the presence of this gene and others in only AM host plants could be a result of evolutionary adaptation of the symbiotic system. An MOSR interpretation would suggest that these genetic protocols were put in place by the Creator so that each autonomous organism could interact and exchange nutrients with each other. Disabled protocols can affect nutrient exchange and can cause this mutualism to turn either parasitic or be discontinued. Change in relationships can also come about in other ways. In an experiment performed by Johnson et al. (2015) they found that light media can reduce plant ability to produce photosynthate for the fungus. Lekberg and Koide (2013) also describe this cheating as parasitic. However, plants can prevent such a relationship from occurring by moving carbohydrates to an area of high P concentration in the root, which is where the arbuscular interface lies (Lekberg and Koide 2013; Kaur and Suseela 2020). Relational variability from mutualism to parasitism can be interpreted as cheating in certain symbiosis market models. An equally reasonable interface interpretation is consistent with designed protocol response and changing media that determine organism interactions, survival responses, and the Creator’s desire for his creatures to thrive even in challenging conditions. Sorghum is an important food crop because of its extreme drought-tolerance, which affects soil media, which informs relationship interactions at the interfaces. Symbiotic relationships help confer resistance in dry conditions. A 17-week field study subjected two sets of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) reflecting two different genotypes to pre-flowering and post-flowering drought stress and detected changes in the expression of genes related to photosynthesis, and its relationship to fungi on its roots (Varoquaux et al. 2019). A molecular profile of drought response over the growing season was compiled from a dataset of nearly 400 transcriptomes of messenger RNA. These data showed that sorghum rapidly detects and adapts to drought stresses by exquisitely regulating gene expression in 40% of the genome. A total of 10,727 genes were modulated (Manke 2019). The field work also studied the effects of drought on AM fungi, that in non-drought conditions are abundantly concentrated around the roots. During drought, some of the genes, specifically modified by sorghum, changed this symbiotic relationship by downregulating metabolic pathways. This downregulation was associated with the reduced availability of exchangeable products between sorghum and fungi and corresponds to decreased fungal mass in sorghum roots (Varoquaux et al. 2019). The elements described enabling arbuscular mycorrhizal and sorHENNIGAN, GULIUZZA, INGLE, and LANSDELL Interface systems model in key global symbiotic relationships 2023 ICC 232

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