Pulling the strings: Endobacteria manipulate fungal mycotoxin production.

Endobacteria within fungi alter fungal behavior, influencing plant disease outcomes by antagonizing beneficial soil microbes.

• Why it matters: Understanding how bacteria manipulate fungi is crucial because it impacts plant health and soil ecology, yet this phenomenon remains underexplored.
• What they did: Wei et al. examined an endofungal bacterium, uncovering mechanisms by which it modifies fungal interactions and affects mycotoxin production and plant disease dynamics.
• The result: Their findings reveal that endobacteria can suppress beneficial microbes, potentially leading to increased plant susceptibility to disease, which opens new avenues for managing plant health.