Plant roots are host to a multitude of filamentous microorganisms. Among these, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi provide benefits to plants, while pathogens trigger diseases resulting in significant crop yield losses. It is therefore imperative to study processes which allow plants to discriminate detrimental and beneficial interactions in order to protect crops from diseases while retaining the ability for sustainable bio-fertilisation strategies. Accumulating evidence suggests that some symbiosis processes also affect plant–pathogen interactions. A large part of this overlap likely constitutes plant developmental processes. Moreover, microbes utilise effector proteins to interfere with plant development. Here we list relevant recent findings on how plant–microbe interactions intersect with plant development and highlight future research leads.