Hartig net is a network of inward-growing

hyphae A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one or ...

, that extends into the

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the su ...

, penetrating between the epidermis and cortex of

ectomycorrhiza An ectomycorrhiza (from Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or my ...

l plants. This network is a site of nutrient exchange between the

fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately fr ...

and the host

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae excl ...

. The Hartig net is one of the three components required for

ectomycorrhizal An ectomycorrhiza (from Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or my ...

roots to form as part of ectomycorrhizal symbiosis with the host tree or plant. The Hartig net is named after Theodor Hartig, a 19th-century German forest biologist and botanist. He reported research in 1842 on the

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having i ...

of the interface between ectomycorrhizal fungi and tree roots. The Hartig net supplies chemical elements required for plant growth, such as potassium, and provides compounds, such as nitrate, used in combination with the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis for farmable crops, as well as certain kinds of lichens. Part of its role in mutualistic interactions is based on the chemicals it provides, as well as it being essential for bi-directional nutritional uptake, which has shown to help defend the fungi from heavy metal damage, Shi, W, Zhang, Y, Chen, S, Polle, A, Rennenberg, H, Luo, Z‐B. Physiological and molecular mechanisms of heavy metal accumulation in nonmycorrhizal versus mycorrhizal plants. Plant Cell Environ. 2019; 42: 1087– 1103. https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.13471 amongst other benefits.

References

Plant roots Soil biology Symbiosis Fungal morphology and anatomy {{mycology-stub

See also

References