4 ms·
As a geologist, we can definitely have an unusual idea of what counts as "fast" :) That's a good question, I would say if anyone found fungi before the GOE tha
by cbkeller 5y ago
As a geologist, we can definitely have an unusual idea of what counts as "fast" :)
That's a good question, I would say if anyone found fungi before the GOE that would be a big surprise. Finding them after the GOE makes sense, so doesn't necessarily change our understanding of the GOE -- but if they really were around this soon after (if this article is correct) that would definitely seem to have interesting implications for the evolutionary origin of fungi.
- vanderZwan 5y agoCould it affect our understanding of the formation of these iron bands? I guess the funghi don't consume oxygen, or it wouldn't have taken those 800 million years, but if they're that old shouldn't we find them in the bacterial mats, decomposing stuffe affecting the chemistry?
- cbkeller 5y agoHmm, good question. There is generally expected to be plenty of decomposition (or in biogeochemical speak "remineralization") happening any time you have enough organic carbon around (and enough of a chemical potential gradient between that and some oxidant) for somebody to make a living respiring that organic carbon. And just in terms of biogeochemical cycling the result is pretty similar whether the decomposition is being done by heterotrophic bacteria and archaea, or by fungi -- so to first order it wouldn't change that. Nonetheless, there might be some unexpected consequences if a significant proportion of the remineralization was being done by fungi.