Aluminum is a significant component of many soils and is typically bound in minerals, thus making it unavailable to plant systems. However, as the pH of soils decreases in many areas due to acid rain, the dissolution of bound aluminum increases. It has been documented that these increased levels of bioavailable aluminum are toxic to many plants. Mycorrhizal fungi that reside on the roots of many vascular plants appear to be responsible for leaching aluminum from the ground water before it can reach the plant. In collaboration with Dr. Jonathan Cumming of the WVU Department of Biology, we are working to isolate and characterize the organic ligands present in these fungi that are responsible for aluminum binding.