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Difficulty: EasyComparative Reading Analysis

Passage A
For decades, classical botany viewed plants as passive organisms competing strictly for localized soil nutrients and sunlight. However, recent investigations into subterranean mycorrhizal networks—symbiotic fungal filaments interconnecting the root systems of multiple plants—demonstrate that plants actively transmit biochemical warnings. When a donor plant suffers foliar herbivory by insects, it synthesizes signaling molecules that travel through fungal hyphae to neighboring conspecifics. Receiving plants subsequently upregulate defensive enzymes and volatile deterrents before they experience direct pest infestation. This evidence confirms that mycorrhizal networks facilitate coordinated, inter-organismal communication that enhances collective survival within plant communities.

Passage B
While mycorrhizal networks undeniably physically link root systems across diverse plant species, characterizing the movement of biochemical compounds through fungal hyphae as purposeful communication is empirically premature. Fungal filaments function primarily as transport pathways driven by standard source-sink concentration gradients and passive capillary action. When an herbivore damages a plant, damaged tissues release elevated concentrations of secondary metabolites that naturally diffuse into the surrounding fungal network. Neighboring plants that absorb these diffused compounds merely react to an incidental environmental cue rather than a deliberate, altruistic warning signal. Understanding these interactions requires viewing fungal networks as complex transport conduits rather than intentional communicative systems.

Based on the passages, which of the following statements are supported by both Passage A and Passage B? Select all that apply.

  1. Subterranean fungal networks establish physical connections between the root systems of separate plants.Answer
  2. B
    The primary evolutionary purpose of mycorrhizal fungi is to foster cooperative defense among unrelated plant species.
  3. Plants near an insect-damaged plant can activate defensive mechanisms prior to being directly attacked themselves.Answer
  4. D
    The movement of compounds through fungal hyphae is governed entirely by passive diffusion gradients rather than active signaling.
  5. E
    Insect damage to a plant's foliage permanently destroys its ability to absorb soil nutrients through fungal networks.

Answer

The statements supported by both passages are that subterranean fungal networks physically connect root systems of separate plants, and that plants adjacent to an insect-damaged plant can activate defenses before being attacked directly.
Both passages explicitly agree on the physical reality of the fungal connections between root systems and the observable outcome that neighboring plants can mount defensive responses before experiencing direct pest infestation. While the authors disagree over whether this represents active communication or passive diffusion, they share these fundamental factual premises.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze Passage A to identify stated facts and author claims.
Identified that Passage A confirms physical connection between roots via fungal hyphae, notes neighboring plants upregulate defenses prior to direct infestation, and characterizes the phenomenon as active communication.
Establishing the core commitments of the first passage is necessary before comparing across texts.
2
Analyze Passage B to identify points of concurrence and divergence.
Identified that Passage B also explicitly affirms physical root linkages and pre-infestation defense activation in neighbors, but attributes the biochemical transport to passive physical diffusion rather than intentional communication.
Comparing both texts distinguishes mutual factual agreements from one-sided interpretations.
3
Evaluate candidate statements against both texts to isolate shared claims.
Physical root connection and pre-infestation defense activation are affirmed by both authors, while claims regarding passive diffusion reflect only the second passage and extreme/unsupported claims appear in neither.
Ensures that only claims directly supported by textual evidence in both passages are credited.

Key Concept

Comparative Reading: Identifying Shared Textual Premises
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Comparative Reading Analysis

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