Abstract
In nature, the root systems of most plants develop intimate symbioses with glomeromycotan fungi that assist in the acquisition of mineral nutrients and water through uptake from the soil and direct delivery into the root cortex. Root systems are endowed with a strong, environment-responsive architectural plasticity that also manifests itself during the establishment of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbioses, predominantly in lateral root proliferation. In this review, we collect evidence for the idea that AM-induced root system remodeling is regulated at several levels: by AM fungal signaling molecules and by changes in plant nutrient status and distribution within the root system.
Highlights
When plants made the transition from freshwater to terrestrial environments more than 400 million years ago, fundamental morphological changes were needed for the acquisition of mineral nutrients from the soil instead of from the aqueous substratum
Liverworts constitute the earliest diverging plant lineage known, that supports the development of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbioses with Glomeromycetes
We summarize current knowledge on the selective colonization of root types by AM fungi and its impact on root architectural changes, which we propose is regulated at multiple levels
Summary
When plants made the transition from freshwater to terrestrial environments more than 400 million years ago, fundamental morphological changes were needed for the acquisition of mineral nutrients from the soil instead of from the aqueous substratum. NON-RANDOM AM COLONIZATION OF ROOT SYSTEMS In both di- and monocotyledon root systems AM colonization is not evenly distributed since AM fungi preferentially colonize lateral roots and rather neglect dicotyledon primary roots or monocotyledon CRs (Figure 1; Hooker et al, 1992; Gutjahr et al, 2009a). This might be due to a higher sturdiness and lignin content in shoot-born roots with anchoring function that are more challenging to penetrate than the young expanding, and softer tissue of growing lateral roots (Hepper, 1985; Amijee et al, 1993). Longer periods of plant co-cultivation with AM fungi increase the percentage www.frontiersin.org
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