Carotenoid Cleavage Dioxygenase 8 Enhances Interspecific Facilitation in Maize-Soybean Intercropping via Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Symbiosis Under Phosphate Limitation.

ZmCCD8 overexpression in maize increases interspecific facilitation with soybean under low phosphate, boosting the overyielding effect by 61.9% via higher AMF colonisation.

• Why it matters: In intercropping, the extent to which maize genetics can enhance AMF-mediated nutrient benefits without inoculation is hard to quantify, especially under phosphate limitation.
• What they did: In a pot experiment, maize lines (ZmCCD8 knockout, ZmCCD8-OE, and WT) were grown alone or with soybean under low phosphate and control conditions, measuring overyielding, AMF colonisation, P accumulation, and expression of symbiosis and uptake genes.
• The result: Under low phosphate, intercropped ZmCCD8-OE showed 72.7% greater AMF colonisation than WT, and AMF promoted P accumulation by 58% in shoots and 35% in roots; intercropped zmccd8 showed 47.6% and 63.4% less overyielding and colonisation, respectively.

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