Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
NANJING, June 13 (Xinhua) — An international team of paleontologists led by Chinese scientists has discovered two previously unknown species of parasitic fungi preserved in two pieces of amber from Myanmar’s Kachin region, which are about 100 million years old, according to the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
The new discovery provides important evidence for the study of fungi and insects’ coevolution. The study also suggests that the parasitic fungi group Ophiocordyceps evolved about 30 million years earlier than previously thought.
As the head of the research project, senior researcher at the institute Wang Bo, explained, the fungi do not have a solid structure and are easily decomposed. Research into the origin and evolution of Ophiocordyceps is hampered by the extreme limitation of fossil evidence.
The two pieces of amber have well-preserved mushroom structures, making it possible to compare them with modern analogues. Using computer microtomography, the researchers discovered their insect hosts.
The scientists also obtained and analyzed genetic data on 120 modern Ophiocordyceps species. Using these fossils as a reference, they reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships of Ophiocordyceps and revised the data on the origin of this group of fungi.
“The results suggest that the origin of Ophiocordyceps must have occurred around 130 million years ago, in the Early Cretaceous, which is 30 million years earlier than previously thought,” he said.
The results of the study were published Wednesday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. -0-