Biologists have one of the biggest mysteries to solve – how the planet earth with all it’s lush vegetation came to be. And, thankfully for us, they have shed light on the matter.
The humble fungi, played an essential role in the creation of an oxygen-rich atmosphere for the plants to thrive, claims a study. Fungi played a critical part in establishing a breathable atmosphere on Earth by “mining” the nutrient phosphorus from rocks and transferring it to plants to power photosynthesis.
The amount of phosphorus transferred could have been very large under the ancient atmospheric conditions of the earth but fungi had the power to dramatically alter the ancient atmosphere, the researchers said.
For the study, detailed in the journal Philosophical Transactions B, the team used a computer model to carry out experiments where plants and fungi were grown in an atmosphere resembling the ancient Earth — during which plants did not have roots and were non-vascular, meaning they could not hold water or move it around their system.
Fungi helped the plants to extract minerals from the rocks to aid their growth. The fungi in return received the carbon which the plants produced as they photosynthesized carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Post Your Comments