Mushroom-like microfossils dating back 635 MILLION years are found in China and could have helped the Earth recover from the catastrophic glacial period, boosting marine bio-productivity.
- The oldest terrestrial fossil has been found in China, dating back 635 million years
- This fungal-like microorganism is believed to help the Earth recover from an ice age.
- Experts say it has worked with other terrestrial microbes for recovery
- Together they accelerated the chemical weather and delivered phosphorus to the oceans which stimulated marine bioproductivity
Mushrooms were previously thought to have appeared about 240 million years ago, but a new discovery has rewritten the chronology for when spore-producing organisms first colonized the Earth.
An international team of scientists has discovered a 635 million-year-old microfossil, similar to fungi – making it the oldest terrestrial fossil on record – in cavities in the rocks of southern China.
Researchers say it evolved during the Ediacaran period, when the planet emerged from a catastrophic ice age and the microorganism may have played a key role in its recovery.
Together with other terrestrial microbes, the fungus-like organism has the ability to accelerate chemical weather and provide phosphorus to the oceans that have stimulated marine bioproductivity.
An international team of scientists has discovered a 635-million-year-old microfossil resembling fungi – making it the oldest terrestrial fossil on record – in the rock cavities of South China.
The fossil was discovered in well-studied sedimentary dolostonic rocks in the lower Doushantuo Formation of southern China by scientists at Virginia Tech, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guizhou University of Education and the University of Cincinnati.
Tian Gan, a visiting doctoral student at Xiao Laboratory, said: “It was an accidental discovery.”
“At that moment, we realized that this could be the fossil that scientists have been looking for for a long time.
“If our interpretation is correct, it will be useful for understanding paleoclimatic change and the early evolution of life.”
The fossil was discovered in well-studied sedimentary dolostonic rocks from the lowest Doushantuo Formation in southern China.
The preserved fossil has several orders of branches, curved filaments (pictured) and scale-like branching systems.
The preserved fossil has several orders of branches, curved filaments and scale-like branching systems.
When the ice age hit the planet, it froze the ocean’s surface to a depth of over a mile and the environment was so harsh that no organism could survive.
The Earth has recovered and produced a larger and more complex biosphere than before, which was a mystery to scientists – but the new fossil could solve the puzzle once and for all.
Researchers believe that fungus-like microorganisms and others like it help recondition the environment and have done so using their formidable digestive system.
Mushrooms have digestive systems that can use vital nutrients and can decompose rocks and other hard materials using enzymes secreted into the environment – all of which can then be recycled and exported to the ocean.
“Mushrooms have a mutual relationship with the roots of plants, which helps them mobilize minerals, such as phosphorus,” Gan said.
Mushrooms have digestive systems that can use vital nutrients and can decompose rocks and other hard materials using enzymes secreted into the environment – all of which can then be recycled and exported to the ocean (the image is a computer image of the fossil).
“Due to their connection to terrestrial plants and important nutritional cycles, terrestrial fungi have a motor influence on biochemical weather, the global biogeochemical cycle and ecological interactions.”
Previous work has suggested that terrestrial plants and fungi formed a symbiotic relationship about 400 million years ago, but the new fossil rewrites the chronology 635 million years ago.
Shuhai Xiao, a professor of geosciences at Virginia Tech College of Science, said, “The common question was, ‘Were there fungi in the terrestrial realm before terrestrial plants appeared.’
And I think our study suggests that yes. Our mushroom-like fossil is 240 million years older than the previous record. This is, so far, the oldest record of terrestrial fungi. ‘