The billion-year reign of fungi that predated plants and made Earth livable

New research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution sheds light on the timelines and pathways of evolution of fungi, finding evidence of their influence on ancient terrestrial ecosystems.

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The study, led by researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) and collaborators, indicates the diversification of fungi hundreds of millions of years before the emergence of land plants. Complex multicellular life organisms made of many cooperating cells with specialized jobs evolved independently in five major groups: animals, land plants, fungi, red algae, and brown algae. On a planet once dominated by single-celled organisms, a revolutionary change occurred not once, but at least five separate times: the evolution of complex multicellular life. Understanding when these groups emerged is fundamental to piecing together the history of life on Earth.