Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 22, 2026
09:17
Investigation of Plant Interactions Across Common Mycorrhizal Networks Using Rotated Cores
Published on: March 26, 2019
13.5K
Balancing mutualism: choice and sanctions in root-microbe symbioses
Athira Sethu Madhavan1, Lena Maria Müller1,2
1Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA.
The New Phytologist
|March 21, 2026
Summary
Plants and microbes form beneficial symbioses for nutrient exchange. This review explores how plants select symbiotic partners, like in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis (AMS) and root nodule symbiosis (RNS), to maintain mutualism.
Area of Science:
- Plant biology
- Microbiology
- Symbiotic interactions
Background:
- Terrestrial plants form mutualistic symbioses with microbes to enhance nutrient acquisition.
- Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis (AMS) involves fungi providing minerals for carbon, while root nodule symbiosis (RNS) involves rhizobia fixing nitrogen for carbon.
- Both symbioses involve complex partner recognition and selection mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the molecular mechanisms of partner preference in beneficial plant-microbe interactions.
- To discuss host partner selection strategies that maintain mutualistic stability in AMS and RNS.
- To explore microbial strategies for manipulating host plants and evading control.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of molecular mechanisms in plant-microbe symbioses.
- Analysis of partner recognition and sanctioning strategies in AMS and RNS.
- Synthesis of current understanding of host-microbe interactions and stability.
Main Results:
- Plants employ recognition and post-colonization sanctions to favor high-performing microsymbionts.
- Microbes utilize strategies to manipulate plants for their own benefit.
- Partner preference mechanisms are crucial for maintaining mutualistic stability.
Conclusions:
- Understanding partner selection is key to maintaining stable mutualisms in AMS and RNS.
- Knowledge of these interactions can inform strategies to improve plant-microbe symbioses in agriculture.
- The dynamic interplay between hosts and microbes shapes symbiotic outcomes.
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