Intricate Russian dolls relationships between plants, fungi and bacteria

Plants exist as holobionts, ecological entities shaped through an ongoing and dynamic interplay with microorganisms that commenced with their colonization of Earth.

In both natural and agricultural ecosystems, plants coexist in their sedentary existence with a mix of beneficial and pathogenic bacteria, serving as reservoirs of additional genes and functions vital for their host's well-being.

This paper delves into a very particular type of interaction between bacteria and plants where the microorganisms simultaneously live in symbiosis with a fungus that interacts itself as a holobiont with the plant. We want to move the attention to a much higher level of complexity where relationships become intricate, to “Russian dolls” systems where everyone influences everyone’s behavior.