Mycorrhiza-resistant and non-nodulating pea mutants provide a model system for identifying common genes regulated during the early events in mycorrhiza and nodule establishment. Inoculation of pea roots with Glomus mosseae or Rhizobium leguminosarum can induce overex-pression of seven defense-related genes (pI 206, pI 49, pI 176, PR 10, basic A1-chitinase, transcinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase, chalcone isomerase), depending on the plant genotype and the time point of interaction between the plant and the microsymbiont. Expression of the pI 206 gene is closely correlated with appressorium formation by the mycorrhizal fungus on both mutant and wild-type pea roots. The gene is also induced by the pathogen Aphanomyces euteiches. Transcript accumulation was higher in mutant than in wild-type genotypes for five and six of the studied genes during early stages of root interactions with G. mosseae and R. leguminosarum, respectively, and this is discussed in relation to the symbiotic-defective phenotype of Myc ^-1 Nod¯ pea. The early induction of similar plant defense genes in response to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and rhizobia reinforces the hypothesis of common regulatory steps in both root symbioses.