Analysis of the early symbiotic relationships of plants and fungi

What is it about?

Fungi are thought to have been critical for plants' emergence on land 460 million years ago. The fungus nourishes the plant with minerals and water from the soil, while the plant returns the favor with carbohydrates. This is known as a symbiotic relationship. Now, symbiotic fungi are found in ca 90% of modern plant species. GLAD FOR GLOMEROMYCOTA? Until recently, early symbiosis was thought to have been formed by fungi from the phylum Glomeromycota. A phylum is a group of related organisms. Evidence against exclusive Glomeromycotean symbioses in early land plants has now emerged. For example, one plant species that developed at that time formed associations with both this phylum and another phylum: the Mucoromycotina. SCOTTISH SYMBIOSES The researchers examined Glomeromycotean and Mucoromycetean symbioses in fossilized plants from the Rhynie Chert site in northern Scotland, using historical collections from the Natural History Museum in London, the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow and the Swedish Museum of Natural History. OVERTURNING THE ASSUMPTIONS The researchers argue that both phyla of fungi were present in early land plants. Importantly, they used structural differences between the Glomeromycotean and Mucoromycotean symbioses observed in modern plants to study the Rhynie Chert fossils. The researchers conclude that early land plants might have contained one, or both fungi types.

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