Unexpectedly, this organism has played a surprising role in shaping the atmosphere of our planet.
Without plants, our Earth would hardly have had a breathable atmosphere like this.
But it turns out that the plants did not come on their own, but with the help of one of the strangest life forms on our planet: mushrooms.
Fungi are an important bridge between plants and the soil, according to new research from scientists at the University of Leeds.
The earth formed 4.6 billion years ago has almost no atmosphere. Then, as the Earth cooled, the atmosphere began to form from hydrogen sulfide, methane, and carbon dioxide – a very toxic environment for humans.
Later, the planet became cold enough to allow the presence of water, and with it the emergence of cyanobacteria to initiate the process of converting the atmosphere into an oxygen-rich Earth.
But it wasn’t until the evolution of land plants that the atmosphere became rich enough to promote animal life on Earth around 400 to 500 million years ago.
However, the first plants did not evolve enough to function on their own.
They have not yet developed roots or vascular systems like plants today. Instead, just like the symbiotic relationship between plants and fungi today, soil fungi transfer phosphorus from the rock layer to the plant, thereby promoting photosynthesis in the plant.
“Photosynthesis by land plants is responsible for providing about half of the oxygen on Earth.” It needs phosphorus, but as of yet we still don’t understand how this source of this plant nutrient works. “Benjamin Mills,” said the research team’s biological modeling researcher.
“The results show that the fungal interaction data represents an important step forward in understanding the early development of the Earth,” he added. Our work shows the importance of fungi in creating an oxygen-rich atmosphere. ”
In addition, the team also experimented with ancient mushrooms. They determined that certain fungi lead to varying degrees of phosphorus-carbon metabolism, which in turn affects the oxygen production of plants.
Fungi have been around for a long time, possibly before plants and between them formed a symbiotic relationship from the start.
After this research, we will give some respect to fungi in the growth of plants on Earth.
