Question

What correctly defines mycorrhiza?

• A. Plants that have no vascular tissue.
• B. Nitrogen fixing bacteria that live in nodules on the roots of legumes.
• C. Primitive plants like mosses, which show a dominant gametophyte stage.
• D. Vascular bundles in the stems of tracheophytes.
• E. Symbiotic structures living in the roots of plants that increase uptake of nutrients from the soil.

Answer 1

The correct option is E Symbiotic structures living in the roots of plants that increase uptake of nutrients from the soil.

Mycorrhizae are the symbiotic fungi that reside in roots of higher plants and increase soil fertility by nitrogen fixation. The fungus obtains carbon compounds produced by photosynthesis from roots while the plants obtain minerals, such as phosphorus extracted by fungal threads from the soil. Thus, the correct answer is E.