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Fungi from the Lower Devonian Rhynie chert: My Coparasitism
Author(s) -
Hass Hagen,
Taylor Thomas N.,
Remy Winfried
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1994.tb15405.x
Subject(s) - biology , devonian , spore , chlamydospore , botany , fungus , symbiosis , paleontology , bacteria
Several examples of mycoparasitism are described from the Lower Devonian (Siegenian) Rhynie chert. These fungal interactions include thick‐walled chlamydospores and vesicles in which epibiotic fungi are attached to the outer surface of the spore. Other fossil spores are characterized by mycoparasites developing between the layers of the spore wall or within the lumen. The presence of callosities extending from the inner surface of some fossil spores demonstrates that the hosts were alive when parasitized. This response by the mycohost is identical to that found in certain modem mycoparasitic symbioses involving vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae that are parasitized by various aquatic fungi. The presence of mycoparasitism in a 400‐million‐year‐old ecosystem underscores the potential significance of the fungal genome early in the evolution of other organisms.