ScienceJuly 18, 2026
exudate
/ˈɛɡ.zjuː.deɪt/
Definition
Organic substances, such as sugars and amino acids, that are secreted or leaked by plant roots into the surrounding soil.
Etymology
Derived from the Latin 'exsudare,' meaning 'to sweat out.' It entered English in the 19th century to describe the process of a substance slowly oozing or discharging from a plant or animal.
In the news
In this article, root exudates are described as 'easy calories' for soil microbes, contrasting them with the more stable, harder-to-reach carbon that the study focused on.
For 37 years researchers heated a patch of forest floor to see what climate change would do to the soil — and the carbon everyone assumed was locked away started leaking out on schedule
Read the full article ↗ScienceBlog.com