Tat term as translated from Greek literally means “living together” in English. Most, perhaps all, organisms rely on symbiosis with other organisms of one kind or another. If you are reading this, it is because of the symbiotic relationship between you and the bacteria in your gut! In his beautifully illustrated review of the literature on evolution of fungi and mycorrhizae, Halbwachs (2020) presents the evidence that spores of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Glomeromycotina) and the earliest plant symbioses appear in the fossil record some 485 million years ago. Te arbuscular mycorrhizal relationship turns out to be the most common form of root+fungus symbiosis and exemplifies an immensely successful product of evolution, best embodying Darwin’s phrase, “survival of the fittest.”
We have a problem Figure 2.
Agriculture spread dramatically some 12,000 years ago, and human-caused land clearings and crop tillage released substantial amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Scientists using deep ice core analysis and techniques, detected early spikes in atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane that correspond to agricultural expansion thousands of years ago in Mesopotamia and China (Amundson et al., 2015). More recently, since about 1750, with
the rapid increase in the burning of fossil fuels and the 1900s industrialization of agriculture, the scale and number of human-caused sources of carbon dioxide emissions have increased dramatically. With more carbon coming out of the ground now, and less returning to it, the level of carbon dioxide in the air is continuing to grow at a faster pace. In the last 50 years atmospheric
Figure 3.
the effective root systems of plants by producing a vast network of nutrient- and water-absorbing filaments. Farmers realize what goes on within the soil is as complex and important as that above the soil, although many may not be familiar with the important diversity of soil organisms. What we are beginning to appreciate is, if managed correctly, these fungi can also sequester vast quantities of carbon from the atmosphere in
an agricultural setting. Te next big question in agriculture is really small: how can the many functions of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi be applied to mitigate global problems?
The dawn of symbiosis Tis salubrious phrase, coined by
Bidartondo et al. (2011), refers to their insightful hypothesis on the early evolution of plant-fungus symbiosis.
carbon dioxide levels have risen from 320 ppm to 415 ppm (Lindsey, 2018). Usually, these kinds of changes in the atmosphere occur over geologic time scales. Te effects of climate change are indisputable. Added CO2
has contributed to hotter and
extreme changes in weather that are reducing crop production and making livestock more susceptible to disease. Acidification of the world’s oceans is threatening marine life. Climate change is threatening the health and safety of generations to come.
Fall 2021 FUNGI Volume 14:4 19
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