How are root hairs and mycorrhizae similar?
Root hairs 1 are specialized cells at the root surface that increase the contact between the plant root and the soil. Mycorrhiza fungi 1 [Miller & Gardiner, pp. 184-186] infect the roots of certain plant species to form a mutually beneficial relationship. Biologists call mutually beneficial relationships between different species: symbiosis 1. The fungi grow hyphae (filaments) that are functionally equivalent to root hairs. The mycorrhizae fungi increase the capacity of the plant to extract nutrients from the soil while the plant supplies the fungi with sugars and essential amino acids.
