2023-12-07 15:05:46
MADRID, 7 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
A fungal plant pathogen preserved in the fossil collections of the Natural History Museum has been identified as the oldest disease-causing fungus.
Potteromyces asteroxylicola, which is 407 million years old, has been named after the famous author of the Peter Rabbit Story and mushroom enthusiast, Beatrix Potter. The finding is published in Nature Communications.
Beatrix’s drawings and her study of fungal growth, which in some cases were decades ahead of scientific research, have earned her a reputation as an important figure in mycology.
Potteromyces was discovered in fossil samples from Rhynie Chert, a fossil site in Scotland. The site is known for a surprisingly preserved early Devonian plant and animal community, including bacteria and fungi.
The new study, completed in collaboration with mycologists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, suggests that disease-causing fungi, such as ash, which are currently decimating the UK’s native ash trees, and fungi that can circulate nutrients from those plants and other organisms depend on to survive, They have a historical precedent in Potteromyces.
Dr. Christine Strullu-Derrien, scientific associate at the Natural History Museum and lead author of the study describing the new species, says it’s a statement: “Although other fungal parasites have been found in this area before, This is the first case of one causing a disease in a plant. “What’s more, Potteromyces may provide a valuable point from which to date the evolution of different fungal groups, such as Ascomycota, the largest fungal phylum.”
Strullu-Derrien found the first Potteromyces specimen in 2015. Its reproductive structures, known as conidiophores, They had an unusual shape and formation that had never been seen before.
Equally unusual was the fact that this mysterious fungus was found attacking an ancient plant called Asteroxylon mackiei. The plant had responded by developing dome-shaped growths, which shows that she must have been alive while the fungus attacked.
In order for the team to determine that it was indeed a new species, it was necessary to find another case of the fungus. This is because the nature of fungi differs greatly between individuals.
Confirmation was achieved when a second specimen was found in the collections of the National Museums of Scotland on another slide from Rhynie Chert.
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