exudate

"Interestingly, the microbes responding to bleaching coral exudates were distinct from those grown on healthy coral exudates," said Sparagon.

Since these hydrogels are sticky and adhere to the skin and wound site, they stretch and expand the wound itself once they swell up after absorbing exudates.

This organic matter, the residue that living things leave in the dirt, can come from dead plants, root exudates, microbes, fungi, manure, even decomposing animals and insects.

In return, the plant roots produce an exudate that feeds the fungi.

When they exposed nematode eggs to the exudates using the paper, the hatching rate decreased by 85% compared with not using the paper, the team reports today in Nature Sustainability.