MadiMiller

PlantBiologyLabReport
April2016
MycorrhizalFungi
MycorrhizalFungiisafungusthatgrowsontherootsofplants.Mycotranslatesto
fungus,andrhizatranslatestoroot,literallycreatingthetermfungusroot.Thefungi
colonizestheplantsrootsystem,creatingasymbioticrelationshipbetweenthetwo.Nearlyall
vascularplantsrelyonthisfungus.Togethertheplantandthefungusworkasonesingleunitthe
plantphotosynthesizesaboveground,whiledownbelowthemycorrhizaeworkdownbelow.
Althoughnotpresentinallplantlife,mycorrhizalfungifunctiongreatlyimpactsand
improvesthelifeofaplant.Whenthefungicolonizesarootsystem,thesurfaceareaisincreased
immensely,creatingbetterintakeofwaterfortheplant.Otherthanwaterabsorption,
mycorrhizaeincreasesregularmineralintake,alongwiththemineralsofphosphateandnitrogen,
whichplantsalonehaveahardtimeabsorbing.Inreturnforbeinghelpedbythefungi,theplant
hascarbohydratessuchasglucoseandfructoseavailableforit.
Thebenefitsofhavingafungigrowwithintherootsystemaretremendous.Mycorrhizae
increasetheintakeofmineralsandnutrients,higherthehealthlevelsofplants,andgiveahigher
transplantationratewhenpartofaplantbeingmoved.Pathogensareharderforplantstoreceive
whenmycorrhizaeispresent,andplantstressisreduced.Notonlydoesthisfungushelpthe
plant,ithelpsthesoilandenvironmentaswell.WithMycorrhizaeinthesoil,itishealthierand
cleanerfortheplant.Theneedforfertilizerisdecreasedanddroughtsarenotascommon.

Usingthesebenefits,mycorrhizalfungiisusednowadaystoimprovethegrowthofcrops
forfarmers.However,moderndayfarmingtechniquesarekillingthesefungitechniquessuchas
fertilizationandcultivation.Withtheuseofthesefungihowever,money,water,andplantscan
besaved.Watercanbesavedandhelpplantgrowthduringdroughtbecauseofthelarge
undergroundsurfaceareawhichallowsmoreabsorptionofwater.Cropsarekeptalivebythe
nutrientstakeninbyfungalhyphae,someimportantnutrientsthatplantscouldnotgetwithout
them.Therefore,lessfertilizerneedstobeused,creatingahealthiercropforthepeople.Notonly
plantsarehelpedbymycorrhizalfungi,peoplearetoo.
ManydifferenttypesofMycorrhizaeexistandprovidehelpforplantswithintheworld.
Generally,allmycorrhizacanbecharacterizedbyeitherbeinganectomycorrhizae,inwhicha
sheathisproducedhousingtherootandfromthatthehyphaegrowintotherootthenintothe
soil,oranendomycorrhizae,notproducingasheathbutstillcreatinghyphaethatgrowintothe
cellandthenintothesoil.Yet,therearemanydifferenttypesoffungithatfallwithinthesetwo
broadcategoriesarbuscular,ectomycorrhizae,ericoid,arbutoid,monotropoid,andorchid
mycorrhizalfungialllivingontherootsofhostplants.Eachofthesetypesoffungihavea
certaingrowthpatternoftheirhyphaethatenablestheirhostplanttobenefitfromhigher
amountsofwaterandnutrients.


Arbuscularmycorrhizaearefoundineightypercentofplantfamilies,beingoneofthe
mostabundanttypesofmycorrhizalfungus.Herbaceousplantsaremainlycolonizedby
arbuscularfungi,whichstimulateplantgrowthbyincreasingsurfaceareafortheabsorptionof
water,minerals,andimportantnutrients.Thesoilishelpedbythisfungusaswell,decreasethe
needforfertilization,reducingsoilerosion,andincreasethediversityofmicroflora.Thesefungi
areonlyformedbythedivisionGlomeromycota.Arbuscularfungiproduceballoonlike
structures,orbifurcatedbranchinginvaginations.Thehyphaeofthefungidoesnotpenetratethe
interioroftheplantcell.Theynavigatedthecellmembranehowever,whichishownutrientsare
harvestedandsharedbeyondthefungiintotheplant.Aswellasachievingnutrientsandwater
fromthesoil,thehyphaealsoproduceglomalin,whichisamajorsourceofcarbonstorage.

Woodyplantsalsousemycorrhizalfungitoincreasetheintakeofwater,minerals,and
importantnutrients.Thisfungiiscalledectomycorrhizae.Ectomycorrhizaeisonlyfoundin
woodyplants,onlybeingpresentinabouttenpercentoftheplantpopulation.Whencolonization
therootsofawoodyplant,thefunguscreatesahyphalsheathhousingtheroottipoftheplant,
andcreatesaHartignet,aninwardgrowthofhyphaewhichpenetratestherootitself,
surroundingcellswithintherootcortex.Withthissystemoffungi,nutrientsarecapableof
movementthroughoutdifferenttypesofplants.Thisisprobablyduetothefactthatthereareso
manydifferenttypesofectomycorrhizalfungi,withanestimated7750withinthespecies,and
thefactthatfifteenormoreofthesefungicanbepresentinoneplantsrootsystem.Itisalso
possiblebecausethisfungilinksmycorrhizalrootsystemstogether.
EricoidmycorrhizaearefoundwithintheEricaceaefamily,whichincludesflowering
plants,orknownasangiospermsaswell,suchastheheathers,blueberries.Thesetypesofplants
arefoundinacidicorinfertilegrowingconditionsmostofthetime,beinghelpedbythefungus
thatgrowswithintheirrootsystems.Ericoidfungiallowplantstogainnutrientsthroughtheir
coilsthatformthroughthesimplephasewithinthecelladensecoilisformedintheoutermost
layeroftherootcellinsideoftheroothairs.Behindtheroottipliestheapicalmeristematic
regionoftherootthatremainsuncolonized.Notonlyarenutrientsgainedfromthesoilforplants
withericoidmycorrhizae,butcanbegainedfromnotyetdecomposedmaterials.
TheplantsthatareinhibitedbyarbutoidmycorrhizaearepartoftheEricaceaefamily,
justlikeericoidmycorrhizae.Theydifferhowever,duetothefactthatarbutoidfungiresemble
ectomycorrhiza.Yet,unlikeectomycorrhiza,thisfungiactuallypenetratestherootcellswithin
itshostplant.Liketheectomycorrhizafungi,thearbutoidformsasheathsurroundingtheroottip

andaHartignet.Thisfungaltypeformsamongthebasidiomycetesfungi,andisconsideredto
beanectendomycorrhizabecausethehyphaeactuallypenetratethecellofthehostplant.
MonotropoidfungiarefoundinthesubfamilyofMonotropoideae.Commonlytheyare
foundinconiferousforests.Theyarepresentwithinheterotrophicormixotrophicplants,which
derivecarbonfromthefungus.Chlorophyllisnotpresentinthistypeoffungus,therefore
leadingtotheideathatmonotropoidfungicannotlivewithoutitshostplant.Likeotherformsof
mycorrhizae,asheathishousingtheroottip,andaHartignetisformed.Usingitshyphae,the
fungiderivenutrientsandmineralsfromthehost,obtainingcarbonfromitaswell.Amongthe
Hartignet,individualhyphaegrowoutward,intocorticalcells,orthecortex.Insteadof
penetratingthecellwalls,thisextendinghyphaebendsasitgrows.Thesearecalledfungalpegs.
Fungalpegsgreatlyincreasesurfacearea,buteventuallyruptureatthetipandextendintothe
cellcytoplasm,creatingasackwhichisfilledwithcontentsfromthefungalpeg.Yet,these
contentsneverreachthecellcytoplasmdirectlyduetomaterialsurroundingthebackofthepeg
opening,thereforetrappingthecontentsfrombackflowing.
Atsomepointinthelifetimeofanorchid,itwillnotbephotosynthetic.Therefore,it
cannotphotosynthesize,causingtheplanttorelyonthemycorrhizalfungalgrowthattachedtoit.
Thestageinwhichthisnormallyhappenstoanorchidiswithinitsseedlingstageoflife,
sometimesaseedwillceasetogerminateifamycorrhizaeisnotpresent.Simply,thesetypesof
mycorrhizaearecalledorchidmycorrhizae.Orchidmycorrhizaenormallyinfectanorchidduring
theseedlingstageoflife.Thisoccurswhentheseedcoathasalreadybeenrupturedandasmall
amountofroothairshavebeenformedbytheembryo.Thehyphaethencolonizeandthecellof
theembryoispenetrated.Afterthis,theplasmamembraneofthecellinvaginatesandthehyphae

issurroundedbycytoplasm.Typicalcoilsareformedbythehyphaeandwillonlyliveforafew
days.
Despitemonotropoidfungiwhichreceivesitscarbonfromitshost,allofthesetypesof
mycorrhizaeofferplantsanimprovedlife,andallowhealthier,cleanersoiltobepresent.
Withoutmycorrhizalfungi,waterintakeandmineralabsorptionwouldbegreatlydecreasedin
plants.Moreirrigationsystemswouldhavetobeputtoworkinordertoprovidewaterforcrops,
andanincreasedamountoffertilizerwouldhavetobeused.Thisfungiisnecessaryfor
enhancedplantgrowthandthenutritionofthesoil.Farmersshouldbeusingthisnaturalfungito
theiradvantagecropgrowthwouldbeenhancedduetotheabundantamountofnutrientsbeing
absorbedbytheplantfromthefungi,irrigation/sprinklersystemswouldnotneedbeas
expensiveandduringdroughtsplantswould(mostlikely)beabletosurvivewiththeexcess
waterbeingtakenin.Otherthansolelyplantlifeimproving,thesoilwouldbericher,morefullof
minerals,creatingabetterenvironmentforplantstogrow,andlessworktocreateanutritious
soilbecausenaturalmineralsandnutrientswouldbeused.

References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbuscular_mycorrhiza
http://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/scienceandinnovation/researchcentres/ontario/ottaware
searchanddevelopmentcentre/theglomeromycetesinvitrocollection/arbuscular
mycorrhizalfungiandtheirsymbiosiswithplants/?id=1236712919454
http://www.nifg.org.uk/ecto.htm
http://mycorrhizas.info/ecm.html
http://www.davidmoore.org.uk/assets/mostly_mycology/diane_howarth/ericoid.htm
https://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Endomycorrhizal_fungi
http://www2.nau.edu/~gaud/bio300/mycorrhizae.htm