Underground Association of Fungi with Devonian Charophyte Green Algae
This study, published by Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie – Abhandlungen , is based on the first author Norberto Garcia Cabera’s Master’s Thesis.
26.02.2024
Garcia Cabera N., & Krings M. (2025): Fungi colonizing bulbils of the charophyte green alga Palaeonitella cranii from the Lower Devonian Rhynie chert, Scotland. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie – Abhandlungen, 310 (2), 99–117. https://doi.org/10.1127/njgpa/2023/1172
The autors have discovered four new types of fungi living inside the bulbils of Palaeonitella cranii, a green alga from 407-million-year-old rocks in Scotland. These bulbils, attached to rhizoids—root-like anchoring structures—were previously not known to host fungi. The fungi formed complex networks inside these nutrient-rich structures, showing that the algae were alive when colonized. Each fungal type had a distinct form, suggesting specialized interactions with different parts of the alga. This discovery expands our view of early fungal-algal relationships and highlights the complexity of ancient freshwater ecosystems.
