What Are Mycorrhiza?
Relationships can be extremely versatile and do not only exist among animals. Evolution creates many opportunities for relationships among several species within the plant kingdom as well. Among those include mycorrhiza, which form a “symbiotic association” between fungi and plants in which the plant provides carbon to the fungi and the fungi transfers nutrients to the plant, according to the Penn State University Crop and Soil Sciences Department. Does this Spark an idea?
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Origin
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Discovered by German forest pathologist A.B. Frank in 1885, "micorrhizae" literally means “fungus-root,” an association formed when a fungus comes in contact with plant roots without any occurrence of parasitism--the act of one organism living off of another organism at the expense of the host. Even before the actual discovery, scientists, according to Horticultural Alliance Inc., had already believed that such relationships existed over the previous 400 million years.
Functions
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In contrast with parasitism, the symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant species’ roots becomes significantly beneficial to the plant. By providing essential, non-carbon elements--such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous--mycorrhizal fungi help plants grow and develop. In addition, fungi have finer cavities than a plant’s roots and are more effective in exploiting the soil’s nutrients than the latter. Mycorrhiza also serve as the protector of the plant against other parasitic fungi, soil microbes, and compounds which can deter plant growth.
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Types
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Mycorrhiza have several physical forms. These include the vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza, the ectomycorrhiza, the ericaceous mycorrhiza, and the orchidaceous mycorrhiza, with each type forming an intricate attachment with the roots of many species of plants.
The several different types of mycorrhiza create different structures, ranging from the vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza, which often form shrub-like branches with vesicles--spherical sacs--to the ectomycorrhizal fungi that grow between root cells as a mantle-like net, but do not penetrate the roots. Still other types of mycorrhiza penetrate roots, but do not form branches or vesicles.
Prevalence
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According to the Australian National Botanic Gardens, 80 to 90 percent of the world’s plants--from humid forests to dry lands--are capable of forming mycorrhizal relationships. Orchids and liverworts are some of the examples of plants with fungal associations.
Fungal Formations
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Varied species of mushroom-producing fungi are capable of associating themselves with plant’s roots. Among these are the Amanita, Cortinarius, Hebeloma, Incocybe, Lactarius, Paxillus, and Russula. The non-mushroom producing Hydnum repandum, as well as other coral fungi like the Phlebopus marginatus also form mycorrhizal associations.
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