Question

a soils microbial community (the microbial taxa present in their relative abundances) is known to affect plants cyclical processes. corrine walsh and colleagues hypothesized that microbial communities could also affect plants flavor chemistry, including volatiles and secondary metabolites like glucosinolates. recognizing that soil moisture varies by location in the wild and could influence plants chemistry, walsh et al. introduced distinct microbial communities to individually potted mustard plants (brassica juncea) growing in a controlled environment, then measured the plants glucosinolates, like butenyl and allyl (the most prominent), that create the spicy and bitter flavors in mustard. this method thus enabled the researchers to — which choice most logically completes the text? a) disentangle the influence of microbial communities on soil moisture from their influence on glucosinolate content in the plants. b) demonstrate that differences in plants flavor chemistry result from differences in the level of glucosinolates regardless of the soil moisture. c) distinguish variations in glucosinolates due to differences in soil moisture from those that in a natural setting may be due to differences in microbial communities. d) distinguish variations in glucosinolates due to differences in a natural setting may be due to differences in soil moisture.

Explanation:

The text describes an experiment where researchers grew mustard plants in a controlled environment and measured their glucosinolate content. This was to disentangle the influence of soil - moisture and microbial communities on plant glucosinolate levels. The method allowed for isolating variables to understand plant - soil - microbe relationships.

Answer:

A. disentangle the influence of microbial communities on soil moisture from their influence on glucosinolate content in the plants.