Biol. Bull. Sign up for etocs!
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Free
Right arrow Full Text (PDF) Free
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (19)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bonfante, P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Bonfante, P.
Related Collections
Right arrow Evolution
Right arrow Fungi
Right arrow Symbiosis
Right arrow Microbiology
Right arrow Prokaryotes
Right arrow Cell Biology
Biol. Bull. 204: 215-220. (April 2003)
© 2003 Marine Biological Laboratory

Plants, Mycorrhizal Fungi and Endobacteria: a Dialog Among Cells and Genomes

P. Bonfante

Dipartimento di Biologia Vegetale dell’ Università di Torino and Istituto di Protezione delle Piante, Sezione di Torino, Viale Mattioli 25, 10125 Torino, Italy

This review focuses on mycorrhizas, which are associations between fungi and the roots of 90% of terrestrial plants. These are the most common symbioses in the world; they involve about 6000 species of fungi distributed through all the fungal phyla and about 240,000 species of plants, including forest and crop plants. Thanks to mycorrhizal symbiosis and nutrient exchanges, regulated by complex molecular signals, the plant improves its vegetative growth, while the fungus accomplishes its life cycle. Molecular and cellular analyses demonstrate that during colonization the cellular organization of the two eukaryotes is completely remodeled. For example, in cortical cells, structural modifications involve both the host and the microbiont. Recent studies revealed that in arbuscular mycorrhizas (AM), system complexity is increased by the presence of a third symbiont: a bacterium living inside the fungus. The presence of this resident genome makes the investigation of the molecular dialogues among the symbiotic partners even more complex. Molecular analysis showed that the bacterium has genes involved in the acquisition of mineral nutrients. The experimental data support the current view that mycorrhizal symbioses are often tripartite associations.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 ANN BOT (LOND)Home page
S. Shishkova, T. L. Rost, and J. G. Dubrovsky
Determinate Root Growth and Meristem Maintenance in Angiosperms
Ann. Bot., February 1, 2008; 101(3): 319 - 340.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol.Home page
L. P. Partida-Martinez, I. Groth, I. Schmitt, W. Richter, M. Roth, and C. Hertweck
Burkholderia rhizoxinica sp. nov. and Burkholderia endofungorum sp. nov., bacterial endosymbionts of the plant-pathogenic fungus Rhizopus microsporus
Int J Syst Evol Microbiol, November 1, 2007; 57(11): 2583 - 2590.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Bacteriol.Home page
P. Jargeat, C. Cosseau, B. Ola'h, A. Jauneau, P. Bonfante, J. Batut, and G. Becard
Isolation, Free-Living Capacities, and Genome Structure of "Candidatus Glomeribacter gigasporarum," the Endocellular Bacterium of the Mycorrhizal Fungus Gigaspora margarita
J. Bacteriol., October 15, 2004; 186(20): 6876 - 6884.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2003 by the Marine Biological Laboratory.