PATHOGENIC AND ENDOMYCORRHIZAL ASSOCIATIONS

This chapter discusses protocols and provides a basic reference list to describe some aspects shared by both mycorrhizal and pathogenic fungi. Comparative experiments using a mycorrhizal and a pathogenic fungus are of interest because pathogenic and mycorrhizal associations differ as far as the nutrient flux and the effects on the colonized plants are concerned, the analysis of some cellular interactions in both groups, suggests that mycorrhizal and biotrophic pathogenic fungi have some features in common. Although it is suggested that mycorrhizal fungi can protect roots against pathogen attack. For ectomycorrhiza, this protection may be due to the production of antibiotics, physical protection afforded by the fungal mantle, competition with pathogens for sugars and other substances released by the host root, stimulation of an antagonistic microflora associated with the mantle, and elicitation of the production of antimicrobial metabolites by the roof. The chapter also discusses adhesion of fungi to the plant surface and enzymes that degrade plant cells. © 1992 Academic Press Limited