title: Symbiotic options for the conquest of land.
abstract: The domination of the landmasses of Earth by plants starting during the Ordovician Period drastically altered the development of the biosphere and the composition of the atmosphere, with far-reaching consequences for all life ever since. It is widely thought that symbiotic soil fungi facilitated the colonization of the terrestrial environment by plants. However, recent discoveries in molecular ecology, physiology, cytology, and paleontology have brought into question the hitherto-assumed identity and biology of the fungi engaged in symbiosis with the earliest-diverging lineages of extant land plants. Here, we reconsider the existing paradigm and show that the symbiotic options available to the first plants emerging onto the land were more varied than previously thought.
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.
authors.forename: Katie J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Field
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pressel
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK.
authors.forename: Jeffrey G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Duckett
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, TW9 3DS, UK; Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: William R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Rimington
authors.affiliation: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, TW9 3DS, UK; Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK. Electronic address: m.bidartondo@imperial.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Martin I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Bidartondo
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D019669:Embryophyta / Q000382:microbiology*; D005580:Fossils; D005658:Fungi / Q000502:physiology*; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000502:physiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D013559:Symbiosis
keywords: fungi; mutualism; mycorrhiza; paleobotany; plant evolution; symbiosis