Plant–fungal interactions: What triggers the fungi to switch among lifestyles?

Abstract

Up till now various plant–fungal interactions have been extensively studied in the form of mycorrhizal, parasitic or endophytic lifestyles. Many of those interactions are beneficial to the host plants and a few are detrimental. Several investigations have pointed towards the interconversion of one fungal lifestyle into another while interact the plant system meaning endophyte may become parasite or vice versa. In such case, it is necessary to realize whether these different lifestyles are interconnected at some points either by physiological, biochemical or molecular routes and to identify the factors that trigger the change in fungal lifestyle, which is entirely different than earlier one and affects the host plant significantly. This review highlights the possible mechanisms of switching among the lifestyles of fungi based on recent findings and discusses the factors affecting plant fungal interactions. It also underlines the need for studying this important facet of plant–fungal interactions in depth which may in future help to fetch more advantages and to avoid the severe consequences in agriculture and other related fields.

• Commensalism
• fungal endophytes
• lifestyle switching
• mutualism
• nutrient imbalance
• parasitism
• symbiosis

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest.