Haustorium

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In botany, a haustorium (plural haustoria) is the hyphal tip of a parasitic fungus or of the root of a parasitic plant (such as in the broomrape family), that penetrates the host's tissue, but stays outside the host cell membrane.

Fungi in all major divisions form haustoria. Haustoria take several forms. Generally, on penetration, the fungus increases the surface area in contact with host plasmamembrane, enabling greater potential movement of organic carbon from host to fungus. The simplest forms of haustorium are small spheres. The largest are complex hand-like formations occupying a significant proportion of the host cell. In the Chytridiomycota, the entire fungus may become enclosed in the cell, and it is arguable whether this should be considered analogous to an haustorium.

Haustoria arise from intercellular hyphae, appressoria, or external hyphae. The hypha narrows as it passes through the wall of the cell and then expands on invaginating the cell. A thickened, electron-dense collar of material is deposited around the hypha at the point of invagination. Further, the host wall becomes highly modified in the invaginated zone. Inclusions normally present in plasmamembrane are absent, and the outer layer contains more polysaccharide. The wall of both partners is severely reduced.

Functional exchange takes place within the haustorial complex. The host supplies organic carbon to the fungus, and the metabolic activity within the complex is considerably greater than outside. Carbon from the host is absorbed by the fungus, and immediately transported to the rest of the thallus. The host plant appears to be functioning according to signals from the fungus and the complex appears to be under the control of the invader.[1]

[1]http://bugs.bio.usyd.edu.au/Mycology/StructureFunction/haustoria.shtml