The Crosstalk Between Plants and Their Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Symbionts: A Mycocentric View

During symbiosis establishment a complex dialogue occurs between the two partners: AMF recognize compounds secreted by host roots, such as strigolactones, which elicit an extensive hyphal branching in the vicinity of the roots, before the formation of appressoria on the root surface. On the other hand, AMF release symbiotic signals, a mixture of sulphated and non-sulphated simple lipochitooligosaccharides (LCOs), triggering mycorrhizal formation in different plant families. Here, we will focus on (i) fungal release of symbiotic signals during the asymbiotic phase of AMF life cycle and fungal recognition responses to host-derived signals during the presymbiotic phase, (ii) appressorium formation on the root surface; (iii) the symbiont/host crosstalk during cell-to-cell interactions leading to the formation of a functional symbiosis, (iv) fungal behavior in the presence of non-host plants