BURLEIGH, STEPHEN, IVER JAKOBSEN & HENRIETTE GIESE.
Plant Biology and Biogeochemistry Department, Risoe National Laboratory, Box 49, DK-4000 Roskilde, DENMARK.
The arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis is possibly the oldest, yet least understood beneficial plant-microbe interaction. Central to the symbiosis is the arbuscule; a ramified, intracellular fungal structure with a transient existence and a relatively uncharacterized function. Molecular approaches in the study of arbuscules could not only reveal how these structures are formed and function, but also provide insight into the nature of host-symbiont functional compatibility, identify the means to enhance the symbiosis for agricultural purposes and provide information about both beneficial and pathogenic fungal-plant interactions. We plan to identify plant and fungal genes expressed in arbuscules of the pea AM symbiosis using differential display techniques. To target these genes we have available a synchronous colonization procedure developed especially for differential display as well as an assortment of pea mycorrhizal mutants. We discuss our strategy and the benefits and limitations of using differential display to study the AM symbiosis.