Regulation of the plant defence response in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis

The response of plants to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi involves a temporal and spatial activation of different defence mechanisms. The activation and regulation of these defences have been proposed to play a role in the maintenance of the mutual- istic status of the association, however, how these defences affect the functioning and development of arbuscular mycorrhiza remains unclear. A number of regulatory mechanisms of plant defence response have been described during the establishment of the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis, including elicitor degradation, modulation of second messenger con- centration, nutritional and hormonal plant defence regulation, and activation of regulatory symbiotic gene expression. The functional characterization of these regulatory mechanisms on arbuscular mycor- rhiza, including cross-talk between them, will be the aim and objective of future work on this topic.