Glomeromycota

• Glomeromycota are obligate associates/symbionts of plants
• Glomalin - sticky aminopolysaccharide that helps in soil aggregation, which facilitate the movement of water across the soil column
• Arbuscules - intricately branched microscopic structures where nutrient transfer between the fungus and host plant occurs
• Arbuscules develop inside the living root cells
• Appressoria - contain glycerol for creating a high turgor pressure that allows penetration
• Geosiphon pyriforme - the only non-mycorrhizal species within the Glomeromycota
• Sporocarp - considered as the fruiting body in Glomeromycota
• Geosiphon pyriforme produces inflated bladder cells that contain endosymbiotic Nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria (Nostoc punctiforme)