Abstract Detail

The rise and fall of photosynthate: Evolution of plant/fungus interactions from paleobotanical and phylogenomic perspectives

Berbee, Mary [1], Strullu-Derrien, Christine [2], Hibbett, David [3].

The rise and fall of photosynthate: Evolution of plant/fungus interactions from paleobotanical and phylogenomic perspectives.

Speakers in this symposium explore geological and phylogenomic evidence for the origins of plant-fungal interactions, presenting recent and mutually illuminating advances in phylogenomics and palaeobotany/palaeomycology. Topics include the spread of land plants and development of the plant organ systems that had profound effects on terrestrial landscapes. New evidence from models of climate change as well as analysis of fossil and extant mycorrhizae suggest Fungi may have been more than passengers on a photosynthetic carbon source; fungal activity and fungal enzyme systems may have played essential supporting roles in the greening of land, recycling plant organic matter and solubilizing and releasing mineral nutrients in palaeoenvironments. Evolution of fungal decomposition of lignocellulosein in the Paleozoic may have changed global patterns of carbon sequestrationimpacted the carbon cycle. This symposium is an extension of a stimulating and highly successful 2-day workshop sponsored by the New Phytologist Trust in London, Sept. 2014, organized by C. Strullu-Derrien, P. Kenrick, M.A. Selosse and F. Martin. The workshop involved a small but enthusiastic audience and our goal here is to further explore the roles of plants and fungi in establishment of early land habitats, opening this topic to a broader audience. Speakers who have tentatively agreed to participate: Katie Field Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, UK Paul Kenrick Department of Earth Sciences | The Natural History Museum, London, UK Michael Krings Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Palaeontology & Geobiology and Bavarian State Collections of Palaeontology and Geology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany Marc-André Selosse Equipe Diversité, Évolution végétale et Fongique Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris cédex 05 - France Christine Strullu-Derrien Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London UK David Hibbett Biology Department, Clark University, USA

1 - University of British Columbia, Department of Botany, 6270 University Blvd, Vancouver, BC, V6T1Z4, CA
2 - The Natural History Museum, Department of Earth Sciences, Cromwell Road, London, N/A, SW7 5BD, UK
3 - Clark University, Department of Biology, 15 Maywood St., Worcester, MA, 01610, USA

Keywords:
Devonian land plant fossils
lignocellulose decomposition
mycorrhizae
Devonian fungal fossils
palaeobotany
phylogenomics
carbon cycles
terrestrialization of plants and fungi.

Presentation Type: Symposium Presentation
Session: SY12
Location: Hall A/The Shaw Conference Centre
Date: Tuesday, July 28th, 2015
Time: 1:30 PM
Number: SY12SUM
Abstract ID:32
Candidate for Awards:None