Lukas VFN 🇪🇺Oct 24, 2023

Fungal #evolution: Mycena can now invade living hosts https://phys.org/news/2023-10-fungal-evolution-mycena-invade-hosts.html

#Mycena species can be opportunist-generalist plant root invaders https://ami-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1462-2920.16398

"this genus of #fungi, which has traditionally been considered #saprotrophic—i.e., a #decomposer of nonliving organic matter—is in the midst of an evolutionary leap... some of these bonnet #mushrooms species even show early signs of being able to act as #mutualists—i.e., live in #symbiosis with #trees"

Fungal evolution discovered: Mycena can now invade living hosts

Biologists have long known mushrooms of the genus Mycena, commonly known as bonnet mushrooms, as fungi that live off of dead trees and plants. New research from the University of Copenhagen demonstrates that bonnets can also find their ways into young, healthy trees and plants, where they try to cooperate. In doing so, they have made an evolutionary leap which challenges our understanding of the ecological roles of fungi.

Phys.org
Dr. Korinna AllhoffFeb 14, 2023

Paper submitted! 🥳

This one is a major win because 3/4 of us are #AcademicMums. We fight with sleep deprivation, inconsistent childcare, countless illnesses and short-term contracts, so 1st author Franz Weyerer had to juggle our numerous work constraints on top of a challenging research project. But we made it work!

Here is our new #preprint showing how #coevolution of #mutualists accelerates or decelerates #pollinator extinction.

#AdaptiveDynamics
#InsectDecline

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.02.12.528164v1

Lukas VFN 🇪🇺Dec 6, 2022

Understanding the cryptic role #fungi play in ecosystems https://phys.org/news/2022-12-cryptic-role-fungi-play-ecosystems.html

Fungal Dispersal Across Spatial Scales: Bala Chaudhary et al. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-012622-021604

"We typically think of fungi as #decomposers, but they are cryptic and do many different things. Fungi can also function as nutrient cyclers, #pathogens, and #mutualists that live in a beneficial association with plants and other organisms."

Understanding the cryptic role fungi play in ecosystems

When you say "fungi," most people think of mushrooms, showy fruiting bodies, but most fungi do not produce mushrooms. It is estimated that there are approximately 3 to 13 million fungal species on Earth, many of which are microscopic in size.

Louica Philipp (she/they) 🌱🦊Nov 24, 2022
Our newest case at #sfe2gfoe2022 is #Evolutionary #murder: When coevolution of #mutualists accelerates extinction. Great talk on rather unexpected #adaptivedynamics by Avril Weinbach!
Lukas VFN 🇪🇺Nov 11, 2022

#Mutualists limit plant establishment to #islands: the case of the N-fixing #symbiosis https://ecoevocommunity.nature.com/posts/mutualists-limit-plant-establishment-to-islands-the-case-of-the-n-fixing-symbiosis

Nitrogen-fixing symbiotic #bacteria act as a global filter for plant establishment on islands: Camille Delavaux et al. https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-022-04133-x

The two most important plant mutualisms – those with mycorrhizal #fungi and N-fixing bacteria – show similar patterns and support a #mutualism filter on islands worldwide.

Mutualists limit plant establishment to islands: the case of the N-fixing symbiosis

Springer Nature