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| Colonized plant. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Sheffield) |
ScienceDaily, November 2, 2010
New research by
scientists at the University of Sheffield has shed light on how Earth's first
plants began to colonize the land over 470 million years ago by forming a
partnership with soil fungi.
The research,
published in Nature Communications, has provided essential missing evidence
showing that an ancient plant group worked together with soil-dwelling fungi to
'green' Earth in the early Palaeozoic era, nearly half a billion years ago.
The research, which
also involved experts from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Imperial College
London and the University of Sydney, has provided new insights into our
understanding of the evolving dynamic behavior of Earth's land plants and
fungi.
Scientists have
long-suspected that soil fungi formed mutually beneficial relationships with
early land plants to play an essential role in assisting their initial
colonization of terrestrial environments. However, until now there has been a
lack of evidence demonstrating if and how the earliest ancient land plants,
from the early Palaeozoic era (over 470 million years ago), might have
cooperated with fungi for mutual benefit.
The team studied a
thalloid liverwort plant, which is a member of the most ancient group of land
plants that still exists and still shares many of the original features of its
ancestors. They used controlled-environment growth rooms to simulate a CO2-rich
atmosphere, similar to that of the Palaeozoic era when these plants originated.
This environment significantly amplified the benefits of the fungi for the
plant's growth and so favored the early formation of the association between
the plant and its fungal partner.
The team found that
when the thalloid liverwort was colonized by the fungi, it significantly enhanced
photosynthetic carbon uptake, growth and asexual reproduction, factors that had
a beneficial impact on plant fitness. The plants grow and reproduce better when
colonized by symbiotic fungi because the fungi provide essential soil
nutrients. In return, the fungi also benefit by receiving carbon from the
plants. The research found that each plant was supporting fungi that had an
area of 1-2 times that of a tennis court.
Professor David
Beerling, from the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences at the University of
Sheffield, said: "By studying these ancient plants we open a window on the
past to investigate how the earliest land plants evolved. Our results support
the idea that the 'greening' of the Earth was promoted by a symbiosis between
plants and fungi. It shows that plants didn't get a toe-hold on land without
teaming up with fungi -- this has long been suspected, but until now not
investigated. It will require us to think again about the crucial role of
cooperation between organisms that drove fundamental changes in the ecology of
our planet."
Martin Bidartondo
from the Jodrell Laboratory at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, said:
"Fungi are present in every type of habitat throughout the world and are
essential for many plants to grow. It is exciting that we are now beginning to
discover the fungi associated with 'lower' plants, and that many more still
remain to be investigated."
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Sheffield.Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Claire P. Humphreys, Peter J. Franks, Mark Rees, Martin I. Bidartondo, Jonathan R. Leake, David J. Beerling.Mutualistic mycorrhiza-like symbiosis in the most ancient group of land plants. Nature Communications, 2010; 1 (8): 103 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1105
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