| Abstract Detail
Paleobotanical Section Taylor, Thomas N. [1], Krings, Michael [2], Dotzler, Nora [2], Galtier, Jean [3], Taylor, Edith L. [1]. The Truth About Palaeomyces . Anyone who has ever looked at a petrographic thin section of a Rhynie chert plant has no doubt seen large, thick-walled spores, some with a truncated section of a hypha, that are referred to as Palaeomyces. While the name was originally proposed by Renault, it was Kidston and Lang who added a number of species from the Rhynie chert, and expanded the concept of the genus to include other types of fungi. It is now known that some of these large thick-walled spores from the Rhynie chert included in Palaeomyces represent the asexual spores of members of the Glomeromycota, the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal phylum that colonizes the roots of most land plants and that assists in nutrient uptake in exchange for plant assimilated carbon. Recent studies of the fossil spores indicate the presence of structural features and developmental stages that demonstrate that the Glomeromycota were already highly diverged by Early Devonian time. The abundance of asexual spores and the absence of any indication for sexual reproduction within the group indicates that asexual reproduction has been the primary method for gene transmission already in the late Paleozoic representatives of the group. In this presentation we will explore the relationship between the fossil Glomeromycota and modern forms, and suggest possible ways in which paleomycology may help to interpret modern fungal/plant interactions and the evolution of the group. Broader Impacts:
Log in to add this item to your schedule
1 - University of Kansas, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center, 1200 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, Kansas, 66045-7534, USA
2 - Bayerische Staatssammlung Für Paläontologie und Geologie, Richard-Wagner Strasse 10, Munich, D-80333, Germany
3 - AMAP, TA A-51/PS2, Boulevard de la Lironde, Montpellier, 34398 , France
Keywords:
paleomycology
Rhynie chert
Glomeromycota
fossil fungi
Mycorrhizae.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 8
Location: 555B/Convention Center
Date: Monday, August 2nd, 2010
Time: 11:30 AM
Number: 8006
Abstract ID:234 |
