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  • Fungi may have set the stage for life on land hundreds of millions of years earlier than thought

    From Pro Plyd@invalide@invalid.invalid to talk-origins on Thu Oct 2 22:50:15 2025
    From Newsgroup: talk.origins


    https://phys.org/news/2025-09-fungi-stage-life-hundreds-millions.html

    "New research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution
    sheds light on the timelines and pathways of evolution
    of fungi, finding evidence of their influence on
    ancient terrestrial ecosystems. The study, led by
    researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and
    Technology (OIST) and collaborators, indicates the
    diversification of fungi hundreds of millions of
    years before the emergence of land plants."

    Long story short

    "The analysis suggests a common ancestor of living
    fungi dating to roughly 1.4rCo0.9 billion years
    agorCowell before land plants. That timing supports
    a long prelude of fungirCoalgae interactions that
    helped set the stage for life on land."

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From RonO@rokimoto557@gmail.com to talk-origins on Fri Oct 3 08:42:57 2025
    From Newsgroup: talk.origins

    On 10/2/2025 11:50 PM, Pro Plyd wrote:

    https://phys.org/news/2025-09-fungi-stage-life-hundreds-millions.html

    "New research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution
    sheds light on the timelines and pathways of evolution
    of fungi, finding evidence of their influence on
    ancient terrestrial ecosystems. The study, led by
    researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and
    Technology (OIST) and collaborators, indicates the
    diversification of fungi hundreds of millions of
    years before the emergence of land plants."

    Long story short

    "The analysis suggests a common ancestor of living
    fungi dating to roughly 1.4rCo0.9 billion years
    agorCowell before land plants. That timing supports
    a long prelude of fungirCoalgae interactions that
    helped set the stage for life on land."


    Makes sense because land plants evolved from fresh water algae that
    evolved after other algae. Fungi would have been evolving and
    diversifying living off the bacteria that first adapted to terrestrial conditions. We still find these anaerobic photosynthetic bacteria in
    mud and thermal conditions. Fungi need to live off autotrophic primary
    carbon fixers. So as soon as such autotrophic bacteria and eukaryotic
    algae adapted to living at least partly on land fungi could have followed.

    Ron Okimoto

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2