mycorrhiza

1. (ecology, botany, mycology) A plant root formed in symbiosis with a fungus; the symbiosis between the mycelium of a fungus and the roots of a plant.Examples: "Alternatively, inoculations of a disturbed site with native or exotic fungi facilitate formation of mycorrhizae in a shorter period, given certain circumstances."; "This has been associated with advances in different research disciplines such as genetics, genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and physiology, advances which have generated better insight into topics of mycorrhizal biology, including the mechanisms of host-mycorrhiza interactions pre- and post-penetration, the influence of the symbiosis on the host and its surroundings, and the evolution and diversity of mycorrhization."; "In total, mycorrhizae are responsible for helping source the nutrients for about 80 per cent of all modern plant species."