Researchers from the United States Department of Energy Joint Genome Initiative (JGI) and their international collaborators are studying the inner workings of symbiotic plant-fungus relationships for potential applications in biofuel crop cultivation and phytoremediation. A possible scenario would be to harness the symbiosis to remediate/rehabilitate polluted soils using biofuel crops. The symbiotic relationship usually involves a group of fungi called Mycorrhizae, which thrive in the roots of the plant host and aids in the growth/survival of the plant. The fungus, in exchange, gets “protective root refuge” against other soil microbes. The symbiotic relationship is especially useful when the plant is grown in marginally productive or polluted soils. The JGI focus of study is the symbiotic relationship between fungi, called Laccaria bicolor, and woody trees of the genus Populus (examples, poplar and aspen). According to the JGI project web site, “characterizations of the interactions between Populus and its symbiotic associate, Laccaria bicolor , would allow in-depth exploration of the coordinated community response to these abiotic and biotic stresses, thus adding a needed dimension to climate change research and providing another step in the quest for mechanistic modeling of ecosystem responses”..