Mycorrhizae
Mycorrhizae is a symbiotic association between plant roots and fungi. The formation of a mycorrhizal symbiosis is considered a widespread strategy of plants to obtain advantages under selection pressure in natural ecosystems. [1] The fungi in the soil which commonly form mycorrhizal relationships with plants are mostly unique. The relationships between the fungus and the plant are mutual beneficial: the fungus receives necessary carbohydrates from the host plant, and the mycorrhizae absorbs nutrients from the soil which are passed along to the plant in return. Mycorrhizae is one of the important set of survival mechanisms for plants living in challenging locations. [2] It also play a key role in terrestrial ecosystems to regulate nutrient and carbon cycles, and influence soil structure and ecosystem multifunctionality. [3]
Types
There are mainly two types of mycorrhizae: Ectomycorrhizae and Endomycorrhizae.
Ectomycorrhizae
Ectomycorrhizae (ECM) associations involve the most diverse category of myocrrhizae: more than 5,000 species of fungi (mainly Basidiomycetes) with a limited number of Ascomycetes and Zygomycetes. [4] Major groups of plants for ECM include most herbs, grasses and many trees, hornworts, and liverworts. There are approximately 200,000 number of plant species hosing Ectomycorrhize fungi. <ref>
Endomycorrhizae
Plant-fungi Interactions
References
- ↑ Schönbeck,F., Grunewaldt-Stöcker, G. & von Alten, H. (1994). Mycorrhizae. In C. L. Campbell, D. M. (Eds.), Epidemiology and Management of Root Diseases Benson. Springer, Dordrecht.
- ↑ O’Callaghanm A.M. Mycorrhizae Fact Sheet. https://www2.nau.edu/~gaud/bio300/mycorrhizae.htm
- ↑ van der Heiden, M. G.A., Martin, F.M., Selosse, M., & Sanders, I.R. (2015). Mycorrhizal ecology and evolution: the past, the present, and the future. New Phytologist, 205(4), 1406-1423.
- ↑ Futai, K., Taniguchi, T., Kataoka, R. (2008). Ectomycorrhizae and Their Importance in Forest Ecosystems. In: Siddiqui, Z.A., Akhtar, M.S., Futai, K. (eds) Mycorrhizae: Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry. Springer, Dordrecht.