Informationsaustausch in der Ektomykorrhiza

To see the wood for the trees: Communication in ectomycorrhizal symbiosis The mutual symbiosis of ectomycorrhiza has been established in a co‐evolution that depends on a specific communication between the woody plant and the fungus. The exchange of inorganic nutrients and water (delivered by the fungus) for sugar (supplied by the host tree) provides the basis for the symbiosis. The interaction is initiated with signals that can be associated with root exudates and volatiles in the soil matrix. After recognition, the fungus is able to modulate plant response functions that usually suppress pathogens by excretion of effector molecules, which allows entry into the root. Within the root, specific cell wall proteins of the fungus like hydrophobins are important for host specificity. Signals in the mycorrhizal root like the auxin indole‐acetic acid modify the morphology of both partners resulting in the intimate interactions of fully established mycorrhiza. The soil hyphae of the fungus, at the same time, respond to other bacteria and fungi in the mycorrhizosphere.