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Morphological and Functional Stasis in Mycorrhizal Root Nodules as Exhibited by a Triassic Conifer
Schwendemann, Andrew Benjamin Decombeix, Anne-Laure Taylor, Thomas N. Taylor, Edith L. Krings, Michael
Schwendemann, Andrew Benjamin
Decombeix, Anne-Laure
Taylor, Thomas N.
Taylor, Edith L.
Krings, Michael
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Abstract
Mycorrhizal root nodules occur in the conifer families Araucariaceae,
Podocarpaceae, and Sciadopityaceae. Although the fossil
record of these families can be traced back into the early Mesozoic,
the oldest fossil evidence of root nodules previously came from
the Cretaceous. Here we report on cellularly preserved root
nodules of the early conifer Notophytum from Middle Triassic permineralized
peat of Antarctica. These fossil root nodules contain
fungal arbuscules, hyphal coils, and vesicles in their cortex. Numerous
glomoid-type spores are found in the peat matrix surrounding
the nodules. This discovery indicates that mutualistic associations
between conifer root nodules and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
date back to at least the early Mesozoic, the period during which
most of the modern conifer families first appeared. Notophytum
root nodules predate the next known appearance of this association
by 100 million years, indicating that this specialized form of
mycorrhizal symbiosis has ancient origins.
Description
This is the publisher's version, which is being shared with permission. The original version is available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1110677108
Date
2011
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Publisher
National Academy of Sciences
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Keywords
Antarctica, Glomeromycota
Citation
Schwendemann, A. B., Decombeix, A., Taylor, T. N., Taylor, E.L., and Krings, M. 2011. Morphological and Functional Stasis in Mycorrhizal Root Nodules as Exhibited by a Triassic Conifer. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108(33): 13630-13634.