It is a fungal plant pathogen. It is preserved in the fossil collections of the Natural History Museum. The 407-million-year-old fungus is the oldest disease-causing fungus.
Potteromyces asteroxylicola has been named after the famous author of the Peter Rabbit Story and mushroom enthusiast, Beatrix Potter. The finding is published in Nature Communications. Studies on fungal growth were decades ahead of scientific research. This fungus was found in fossil samples from Rhynie Chert, a fossil site in Scotland. The site is known for a community of Devonian plants and animals.
Historical precedent
The new study targets disease-causing fungi, such as ash. They are currently decimating the UK’s native ash trees. Other fungi can circulate nutrients that plants and other organisms depend on to survive. Both have a historical precedent in Potteromyces.
Dr. Christine Strullu-Derrien is a Scientific Associate at the Natural History Museum. She describes the new species in a statement: “Other fungal parasites have been found before in this area. But this is the first case of one causing a disease in a plant. “It is a valuable point from which to date the evolution of different fungal groups, such as Ascomycota, the largest fungal phylum.”
The first Potteromyces specimen was found in 2015. Its reproductive structures are known as conidiophores. They had an unusual shape and formation that had never been seen before. Equally unusual was the fact that this mysterious fungus was found attacking an ancient plant called Asteroxylon mackiei. The plant had responded by developing dome-shaped growths. It shows that she must have been alive while the fungus attacked.
new species
In order for the team to determine that it was indeed a new species, it was necessary to find another case of the fungus. This is because the nature of fungi differs greatly between individuals.
Confirmation was achieved when a second specimen was found. It was in the collections of National Museums Scotland on another slide from Rhynie Chert. The 407-million-year-old fungus was not alone.
