Little wonder, this creature plays a surprising role in the formation of our planet’s atmosphere.
Without plants, our Earth could hardly have a breathable atmosphere like this.
But it turns out that plants didn’t come alone, but with the help of one of the strangest life forms on our planet: fungi.
Mushrooms are an important bridge between plants and soil.
According to new research by scientists at the University of Leeds, fungi are an important bridge between plants and soil.
The Earth formed 4.6 billion years ago has almost no atmosphere. Then as the Earth cooled, the atmosphere began to form from hydrogen sulfide, methane and carbon dioxide – an environment that is very toxic to humans.
The planet then became cold enough to allow the presence of water, and with it the appearance of cyanobacteria to begin the process of converting the atmosphere into a layer around the oxygen-rich Earth. .
But it was only with the evolution of terrestrial plants that the atmosphere became rich enough to support animal life on Earth about 400 to 500 million years ago.
A symbiotic relationship between fungi and plants.
However, the first plants had not yet evolved enough to function on their own.
They have not yet developed roots or a resinous vascular system like today’s plants. Instead, like the symbiotic relationship between plants and fungi today, soil fungi transfer phosphorus from the rock layer to the plant, thereby promoting photosynthesis for the plant.
Plant photosynthesis provides oxygen to the Earth’s atmosphere.
“Photosynthesis by land plants is responsible for about half of the oxygen on Earth. It needs phosphorus, but we still don’t understand how the plant’s supply of this nutrient works,” said Benjamin Mills, a biomolecular modeler on the team.
He added: “The results suggest that the interaction data in fungi represent an important step forward in our understanding of the early development of the Earth. Our work demonstrates the importance of fungi in creating an oxygenated atmosphere.”
In addition, the research team also experimented with ancient mushrooms. Thereby, they determined that some fungi conduct phosphorus-carbon metabolism to different degrees, which affects the plants’ oxygen production.
Fungi have existed for a long time, possibly even before plants, and between them formed a symbiotic relationship from the beginning.
After this study, we will give a certain respect to fungi in the development of plants on Earth.