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Plants do not live in isolation. Ever since they colonized land about 400 million years ago, they have coexisted with a vast array of microorganisms that together form the plant microbiota. Around 72% of all plant species host within their roots fungi known as Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. This remarkable ecological success, sustained across time and space, is driven by a mutual exchange of nutrients that benefits both partners: the fungus enhances the plant’s mineral nutrition by acting as a natural biofertilizer, while gaining access to plant-derived carbon sources.
Advances in molecular biology, genome sequencing, omics technologies, and genetics are now helping us decipher the regulatory mechanisms that enable such evolutionarily distant organisms to live in symbiosis. We have learned that plant–fungus interactions are governed by a conserved set of genes—present from the earliest liverworts to modern plants—and by signaling pathways that orchestrate a finely tuned process of fungal colonization in close contact with plant cells.
Beyond its theoretical importance, mycorrhizal symbiosis holds great practical promise. Harnessing its potential benefits could pave the way toward more sustainable, low-impact forms of agriculture.