AI Article Synopsis
- Understanding the impact of symbiotic relationships on the ecology and evolution of fungal spores has been overlooked in research, even though these interactions are common in various ecosystems.
- A comprehensive database of spore morphology, encompassing over 26,000 species, revealed significant variations in spore size linked to changes in symbiotic relationships.
- This study shows that symbiotic status plays a more crucial role than climate in determining spore size distribution among plant-associated fungi, affecting their dispersal abilities compared to free-living fungi.
Article Abstract
Despite host-fungal symbiotic interactions being ubiquitous in all ecosystems, understanding how symbiosis has shaped the ecology and evolution of fungal spores that are involved in dispersal and colonization of their hosts has been ignored in life-history studies. We assembled a spore morphology database covering over 26,000 species of free-living to symbiotic fungi of plants, insects and humans and found more than eight orders of variation in spore size. Evolutionary transitions in symbiotic status correlated with shifts in spore size, but the strength of this effect varied widely among phyla. Symbiotic status explained more variation than climatic variables in the current distribution of spore sizes of plant-associated fungi at a global scale while the dispersal potential of their spores is more restricted compared to free-living fungi. Our work advances life-history theory by highlighting how the interaction between symbiosis and offspring morphology shapes the reproductive and dispersal strategies among living forms.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ele.14271 | DOI Listing |
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