<i>Arthrobotrys blastospora</i> sp. nov. (Orbiliomycetes): A Living Fossil Displaying Morphological Traits of Mesozoic Carnivorous Fungi

oleh: Fa Zhang, Saranyaphat Boonmee, Yao-Quan Yang, Fa-Ping Zhou, Wen Xiao, Xiao-Yan Yang

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-04-01

Deskripsi

The evolution of carnivorous fungi in deep time is still poorly understood as their fossil record is scarce. The approximately 100-million-year-old Cretaceous <i>Palaeoanellus dimorphus</i> is the earliest fossil of carnivorous fungi ever discovered. However, its accuracy and ancestral position has been widely questioned because no similar species have been found in modern ecosystems. During a survey of carnivorous fungi in Yunnan, China, two fungal isolates strongly morphologically resembling <i>P. dimorphus</i> were discovered and identified as a new species of <i>Arthrobotrys</i> (Orbiliaceae, Orbiliomycetes), a modern genus of carnivorous fungi. Phylogenetically, <i>Arthrobotrys blastospora</i> sp. nov. forms a sister lineage to <i>A. oligospora</i>. <i>A. blastospora</i> catches nematodes with adhesive networks and produces yeast-like blastospores. This character combination is absent in all other previously known modern carnivorous fungi but is strikingly similar to the Cretaceous <i>P. dimorphus</i>. In this paper, we describe <i>A. blastospora</i> in detail and discuss its relationship to <i>P. dimorphus</i>.