Regulation of arbuscular mycorrhiza development

Arbuscular mycorrhiza symbioses between most land plants and Glomeromycotina fungi enhance plant mineral nutrition. The fungi scavenge mineral nutrients from the soil with an extended hyphal network. These are transported into the root and released via tree-shaped, highly branched hyphal structures, the arbuscules that form inside root cortex cells. In return the fungi receive up to 20% of photosynthetically fixed carbon from their host in the form of sugars and lipids.

Symbiosis establishment entails intraradical and intracellular accommodation of the fungi requiring cellular remodeling programs that are intertwined with mechanisms that control plant development and physiology. In my presentation, I will provide insights on the role of plant hormones and transcriptional regulatory complexes in regulating arbuscular mycorrhiza formation.