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The continuing relevance of “older” mycorrhiza literature: insights from the work of John Laker Harley (1911–1990)

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Abstract

To new generations of scientists beginning their careers in research, we strongly recommend the practice of reading older literature. To illustrate the value of doing so, we highlight six insights of one of the most influential mycorrhiza researchers of the twentieth century, Jack Harley. These insights concerning mycotrophy, the new niche, the sheath, C cycling, N cycling, and mutualism were published prior to 1975 and so may have escaped the notice of many, but they laid the groundwork for some of the most important research of today.

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Notes

  1. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was common to refer to arbuscular, orchid, and ericaceous mycorrhizal fungi as endophytes. This is no longer done, possibly because mycorrhizal fungi exist only partially and not wholly within plant tissues.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the planning committee of the 9th International Conference on Mycorrhiza and, particularly, Jan Jansa for inviting us to present this paper. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments. Roger Koide received funding from Brigham Young University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, 84602, USA

    Roger T. Koide

  2. Department of Plant Biology, University Minnesota, St Paul, MN, 55108, USA

    Christopher W. Fernandez

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  1. Roger T. Koide
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Correspondence to Roger T. Koide.

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Koide, R.T., Fernandez, C.W. The continuing relevance of “older” mycorrhiza literature: insights from the work of John Laker Harley (1911–1990). Mycorrhiza 28, 577–586 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00572-018-0854-8

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