Fostering comprehension and integration in mycorrhiza biology: conceptual scaffolding as an aid in teaching and exploration,

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Over the last decade, we have witnessed extraordinary progress in the understanding of molecular dialogues between the partners in plant root mutualisms and, as such, a considerable amount of new information now needs to be integrated into an already significant body of literature. The topic of symbiosis has become difficult to explore in a teaching venue, as there is seemingly so much to discuss, and yet students are truly interested in the discipline because of its potential applications in conservation, sustainable agriculture, and forestry. In this minireview targeted to instructors, senior students, and scientists, we offer a means of teaching the symbioses between mycorrhizal fungi and vascular plants, whereby we propose a conceptual staircase with three levels of incremental learning difficulty. At the first level, we describe the fundamentals of mycorrhizas with special emphasis on the plant–fungus interface. At the second level, we focus on the pre-communication between the two partners. At the third level, we discuss the physiology of the interface in terms of agriculture and forestry. At the end of each level, we provide a short summary where the most important concepts have been outlined for an instructor. As well, throughout the text, we raise questions of interest to the field at large.