Genetic testing across 600 distinct fungal species reveals a shared origin from a single common ancestor. This finding upends researchers’ earlier framework, which grouped these fungi into six branches based on visible traits alone.
Biologist Toby Spribille notes that no single trait instantly links all species, yet the genome narrates a different story. Led by the University of Alberta, the study identifies these organisms as unusual symbionts with compact DNA that share genetic material across species.
For scientists, the relationship mirrors the pairing of the platypus and echidna, two mammals that lay eggs yet nurse their young. While these fungi do not take such dramatic forms, they appear strikingly different in appearance while sharing a close genetic kinship.
This work, published in Current Biology, used genetic sequencing to peer inside mushrooms and reveal their true nature. With the data collected, researchers could place these rare organisms into a newly recognized family, Lichinomycetes. In this fresh phylogenetic group are fungi that specialized long ago, about 300 million years in the past, and have since diverged from their shared ancestor.
The image accompanying the study shows four of the mushrooms examined in Current Biology.
Researchers from seven countries selected 30 different fungi for genome sequencing. All but one displayed a common evolutionary history, according to David Díaz-Escandón. The team initially believed they existed as separate lineages, unaware of their kinship.
Many varieties of mushrooms
The new group encompasses a diverse set of fungi. Examples include earth tongues, tongue-shaped mushrooms that rise from the ground, the gut microbes of insects, and a fungus found in tree sap in northern Alberta. Some unusually hardy lichens that survive extreme environments also helped define the new family, including habitats such as the Atacama Desert in South America.
The team also characterized the genome, noting its smaller size compared with many fungal genomes. A shared feature across the species is their reliance on other organisms for survival. Researchers observed that these fungi have shed much of their ability to metabolize certain carbohydrates, a trait linked to their compact genomes. Real-world observations in natural habitats confirmed their dependence on symbiotic relationships with other species.
This research lays the groundwork for broader studies on fungal evolution, especially how fungi inherit useful biotechnological traits such as enzymes that break down plant matter.
The discovery hints at fungal biodiversity that remains to be explored. The researchers emphasize that today’s surviving fungal diversity may be only a fraction of what once existed, suggesting a hidden past of extinctions and lineage losses.
Reference work: Current Biology 2022, S0960-9822(22)01770-5, full text available via the journal’s platform. Acknowledgments and methodology details are attributed to the study team and collaborating institutions. Biology, 2022.
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