Developmental cross talking in the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis: signals and communication genes

Development of ectomycorrhizas involves multiple genes that are implicated in a complex series of interdependent, sequential steps. Current research into ectomycorrhiza development and functioning is aimed at understanding this plant-microbe interaction in a framework of the developmental and physiological processes that underlie colonization and morphogenesis. After a brief introduction to the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis, the present article highlights recent work on the early signal exchange taking place between symbionts, and sketches the way functional genomics is altering our thinking about changes in gene expression during the early steps of the ectomycorrhiza development.