Study
Hyphal homing, fusion and mycelial interconnectedness
Glass, N. L.; Rasmussen, C.; Roca, M. G.; Read, N. D.
Trends in Microbiology, 2004
A synthesis of live-imaging and genetic work on how fungal germlings and hyphae locate one another, grow towards each other and fuse, drawing chiefly on Neurospora crassa where the mutants exist.
- Studied in
- Ascomycota, Basidiomycota
- Sample size
- review of live-cell imaging and genetic studies
Hyphae detect one another at a distance, reorient their growth towards the partner, make contact and then dissolve the wall between them, producing a continuous cytoplasmic connection. The approach is mutual and coordinated: both partners redirect, alternating in a way that implies an exchange of signals rather than one hypha simply following the other.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Hyphal fusion is a genetically controlled developmental process that converts a set of separate filaments into an interconnected mycelial network.
How NatureHQ reads it
The best-evidenced case of one fungal cell signalling to another, and it is worth stating plainly because it is stronger than the electrical story and gets a fraction of the attention. Two hyphae exchange signals, take turns, and join into one body — demonstrated by imaging, with the mutants that break it identified. It is also, precisely, signalling that produces an organism rather than a message that travels between organisms, which is the distinction the whole subject turns on.
- Chiefly a single model fungus, where the genetic tools exist.
- Laboratory conditions on agar; fusion in soil or wood is far less directly observed.
- A review rather than a primary measurement.
Filming two fungal filaments deciding to become one
When two fungal filaments join, is one following the other, or are both signalling?
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: Cell PressPublished in a Cell Press journal.
doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2004.01.007
Checked against Crossref on 2026-08-31, and they agree on the title, the authors and the year.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-08-31.