EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -A mycorrhiza is a mutualistic relationship between a fungus and a plant. The fungus grows in or on the plant roots. The fungus benefits from the easy access to food made by the plant. The plant benefits because the fungus puts out mycelia that help absorb water and nutrients.

Detailed explanation-2: -One type of mutualistic fungi is mycorrhizal fungi, which have a symbiotic relationship with many plants. These fungi, in groups such as the Amanita and boletes, extend the surface area of the plants’ roots and deliver necessary nutrients, such as water and phosphorous, to the plant.

Detailed explanation-3: -Some relationships, called mutualism, have worked out to benefit both of the organisms involved. This is especially true of the relationship plants share with insects. There are three basic types of plant-insect mutualistic relationships: protection, pollination and seed dispersal.

Detailed explanation-4: -When they land in a flower, the bees get some pollen on their hairy bodies, and when they land in the next flower, some of the pollen from the first one rubs off, pollinating* the plant. This benefits the plants. In this mutualistic relationship, the bees get to eat, and the flowering plants get to reproduce.

Detailed explanation-5: -A lichen is an organism that results from a mutualistic relationship between a fungus and a photosynthetic organism. The other organism is usually a cyanobacterium or green alga. The fungus grows around the bacterial or algal cells. The fungus benefits from the constant supply of food produced by the photosynthesizer.