title: Arbuscular mycorrhizal dialogues: do you speak 'plantish' or 'fungish'?
abstract: Plants rely on their associated microbiota for crucial physiological activities; realization of this interaction drives research to understand inter-domain communication. This opinion article focuses on the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis, which involves the Glomeromycota, fungi that can form a symbiosis with most plants. Here we propose the hypothesis that the molecules involved in inter-kingdom symbiotic signaling, such as strigolactones, cutin monomers, and chitin-related molecules, also have key roles in development, originally unrelated to symbiosis. Thus, the symbiotic role of these molecules relies on the co-evolved capacity of the AM partners to perceive and interpret them as symbiotic signals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy. Electronic address: paola.bonfante@unito.it.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bonfante
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Genre
mesh_terms: D055137:Glomeromycota / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D063245:Plant Development / Q000502:physiology; D010944:Plants / Q000382:microbiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013559:Symbiosis
keywords: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; chitin; cutin monomers; receptors; signal molecules; strigolactones