title: Lichen-like symbiosis 600 million years ago.
abstract: The fossil record of fungi and lichens is scarce. Here we report the discovery of lichen-like fossils, involving filamentous hyphae closely associated with coccoidal cyanobacteria or algae, preserved in marine phosphorite of the Doushantuo Formation (between 551 and 635 million years old) at Weng'an, South China. These fossils indicate that fungi developed symbiotic partnerships with photoautotrophs before the evolution of vascular plants.
authors.affiliation: Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Nanjing 210008, China.
authors.forename: Xunlai
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Shuhai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: T N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Taylor
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D005580:Fossils; D005658:Fungi / Q000166:cytology / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D025301:Hyphae / Q000166:cytology; D008011:Lichens / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D013559:Symbiosis