What is Arbuscular Mycorrhizae?
“Arbuscular mycorrhizae” is the scientific way of referring to a specific type of plant fungi, of the Glomeromycota phylum (one of six fungal phyla), which has had a symbiotic relationship with at least 80% of vascular plants. Arbuscular mycorrhizae may be the most abundant type of fungus on Earth. The fungus helps the plant absorb water and nutrients by vastly increasing the surface area of the roots with its hyphae — long, branching filamentous cells. In return, the fungus gets valuable carbon and other essential biochemicals. The singular form of “arbuscular mycorrhizae” is arbuscular mycorrhiza. What separates arbuscular mycorrhizae from other forms of fungi that live within plants is the hyphae of the mycorrhizae pierce the cell walls of the host plant. Within the plant, branching structures called arbuscules serve as the interface of nutrient exchange with the plants. These go in and out of cells. The symbiosis is so close that the expression of DNA of the plant changes in cells
