Symbiotic Relationship Between Plants And Microbes

The symbiosome is a key area of research at present, it is defined as the organ which the organism produces to entrap the microbe internally* (V. Clarke et al 2014). The symbiotic relationship between plants and fungi is an essential one for benefiting fully from Mycorrhizae, which then helps the land plants absorb the essential nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen. The interaction between plants and microbes allows for essential functions of the plants such as growth, germination and health of the plant, as well as for helping the plant fight off disease and stress. The beneficial fungi being present will also somewhat prevent disease-causing fungi attacking the plant.This symbiotic relationship is believed to have developed over 450 million years ago with the evolution of land plants. It has also been suggested that there was a co-evolution between plants and microbes as their morphology and metabolism is intrinsically linked (G. Berg et al 2015). Humans of course benefit from the plants-fungal interactions, as plants are essential for oxygen production and their growth and development is benefited by microbes. The extent of those interactions and their benefits, and …show more content…
The plants and microbes have co-evolved together to be beneficial to themselves and their environment.(G. Berg et al 2015) From my findings it is evident that plant-fungal interactions are extremely beneficial, they have a place for some industrial use, for example the production of enzymes etc. and there is much potential for these interactions to be exploited for biotechnology. (Morgan, Bending and White, 2005) The interaction between plants and beneficial microbes is necessary for the protection of plants, both from pathogenic microbes (Whipps, 2014) but also the buildup of toxic substances which the plant may absorb from the soil. (Morgan, Bending and White,