Fungi Friday; evolutionary reduction in cyphelloid fungi

September 21, 2018 Philip Pinzone

Close up of the cyphelloid fungus, Henningsomyces candidus. Photo by Bill Sheehan. — Close up of the cyphelloid fungus, *Henningsomyces candidus*. Photo by Bill Sheehan.

The species featured here today reveals that complexity is not a measurement of success. Henningsomyces candidus has gone through a process called evolutionary reduction. It has simple morphology compared to its larger, more complex ancestors, yet it does great. Its fitness has not been reduced with the simplification of its body form. Find out how this species and other cyphelloid fungi break away from the normal evolutionary scheme here on Earth.

Susceptibility to fungal infection varies between individuals in different castes

May 31, 2018 Philip Pinzone

New research reveals that reproductive individuals depend on their worker ants not only to forage for food and do the heavy lifting for the colony, but also to indirectly enhance their own pathogen resistance. The sterile worker ants need not save resources and energy for reproductive purposes so instead, fully invest in enhancing their pathogen resistance.

Fungi Friday-Darwin’s golfball fungus; Cyttaria darwinii

May 25, 2018 Philip Pinzone

Cyttaria darwinii. Mature individual is the large pitted individual on top. — *Cyttaria darwinii*. Mature individual is the large pitted individual on top.

Darwin’s golf ball fungus is a unique species with an interesting parasitic ecology. When we look at the distribution of its closely related cousins, the theory of evolution as well as Earth’s long, magnificent ecological past just becomes strengthened. I hope learning about Cyttaria darwinii will be as captivating to you as it was to Charles Darwin when he found the species while surveying Tierra del Fuego nearly 200 years ago.

Fungi Friday; The rarity of the color blue in nature-Entoloma hochstetteri

May 18, 2018 Philip Pinzone

Entoloma hochstetteri found in New Zealand by Michael Wallace. — *Entoloma hochstetteri* found in New Zealand by Michael Wallace.

Blue pigments take notoriously more time to evolve. This has led to animal species coming up with structural solutions instead of chemical ones. Since fungi don’t see, and usually don’t use animal dispersers that specialize in seeing blue, blue pigments have slowly evolved. These blue pigments are a rarity in nature, but leave it up to our fungal friends to find a way to produce these compounds.

Evolutionary stability in mycorrhizal endobacteria

April 11, 2018 Philip Pinzone

Some bacteria make fungal hyphae their home.

Many bacteria live inside other organisms. These endobacteria usually evolve functions that enhance the fitness of their partner. It was once perceived that facultative endobacteria were an intermediate, transitional stage leading to more obligate mutualisms. Contrary to what we once thought, this research shows that not all facultative endobacteria are on route to becoming an obligate mutualist. Instead, these facultative relationships can persist for millions of years, especially when their interactions vary greatly with different environmental conditions.

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