Question

in separate studies. stephen meding and robert j. zasoski and xiahua he and colleagues examined whether plants transfer nutrients to one another using a common mycorrhizal network (cmn) - a lattice of fungal strands in the soil. meding and zasoski excluded all pathways other than the cmn by using barriers to keep the plants root systems separate while allowing mycorrhizal threads to pass through - a crucial step he and colleagues study did not take. meding and zasoski took the necessary precaution of separating the plants root systems thereby excluding root - to - root transmission. however, the barrier used must allow the thread - like hyphae of a cmn to pass through and this permeability would also allow liquids through. thus, the researchers experimental design cannot ensure that any nutrient transfer observed can be attributed to a cmn and not to some other pathway. based on the text, the author of text 1 and the author of text 2 would most likely agree with which statement? a the barriers used in meding and zasoskis study effectively excluded root - to - root transmission of nutrients. b a barrier that is impervious to both roots and fungal strands is necessary to evaluate nutrient transfer via a cmn. c excluding root - to - root transfer of nutrients between plants is sufficient to ensure that any observed nutrient transfer must involve a cmn. d he and colleagues study did not find convincing evidence of nutrient transfer between individual plants.

Explanation:

Text 1 mentions Meding and Zasoski's study excluding root - to - root pathways to focus on CMN, while He and colleagues' study didn't take this crucial step. Text 2 elaborates on Meding and Zasoski's precautions and the importance of excluding root - to - root transmission. It can be inferred that He and colleagues' study didn't have the same level of rigor in ensuring evidence of nutrient transfer, so they likely didn't find convincing evidence.

Answer:

D. He and colleagues' study did not find convincing evidence of nutrient transfer between individual plants.