Sharing resources for mutual benefit: crosstalk between disciplines deepens the understanding of mycorrhizal symbioses across scales

Mycorrhizal scientists from 53 countries gathered in the city of Prague from 30 July until 4 August 2017 for the 9th International Conference on Mycorrhiza (ICOM9). They came to discuss an ancient symbiosis based on the exchange of resources between plant\nand fungal partners, with many impacts on plant health (van der Heijden et al., 2015). Much like this mutualistic interaction, delegates from disparate disciplines united with a strong focus on\nintegration and sharing of resources for mutual benefit. By exchanging knowledge among researchers from the fields of molecular biology, physiology and ecology, the participants of ICOM9 made a leap forward in our understanding of symbiotic structure and function at multiple scales (Fig. 1).