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Arbuscular mycorrhiza is the most common form of symbiotic association between a fungus and the roots of a vascular plant. The fungal hyphae penetrate plant cells and develop branching morphological structures inside the cells, allowing a vast exchange surface between both organisms.
Using a combination of single-cell and spatial transcriptomic analysis, Serrano et al. uncover transcriptional dynamics during the establishment of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis.
Plant antagonists may disrupt the allocation of carbon resources from plants to mutualistic microorganisms. Here, the authors report how plants attacked by cyst nematodes and aphids maintain carbon transfer to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi through fatty acid transfer whilst the limiting the loss of sugars.
On-farm experiments in 54 fields in Switzerland show that inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can promote crop yield, and inoculation success can be predicted using soil microbiome indicators.
Zhang et al. report that Medicago AR2/ERF transcription regulators WRI5a-ERM1-ERF12 form a transcriptional negative feedback loop to coordinate arbuscular lipid supply, enabling the maintenance of a stable, reciprocally beneficial symbiosis.
Detailed electron microscopy and tomography analyses reveal a previously unappreciated complexity of extracellular membranes at the host–microbe interface during arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis.
Despite depressingly common misconceptions, fungi are not plants. However, the alliances made between these two forms of life could be an inspiration for the research communities that study them.
The first N-acetylglucosamine transporter to be functionally characterized in plants has an unexpected role in root colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in rice.