The fungal cultivar of leaf-cutter ants produces specific enzymes in response to different plant substrates SUMMARY: Leaf-cutter ants and a fungus called Leucoagaricus gongylophorus have a symbiotic relationship. The ants harvest plant material for the fungus to “eat” and then the ants feed off of the gongylidia. These swollen parts of the hyphae are no… Continue reading Different Enzymes to Digest Different Plant Substrates
Tag: fungi
Coal Formation Not Correlated with Fungal Evolution
Delayed fungal evolution did not cause the Paleozoic peak in coal production SUMMARY: This article provides evidence to refute the theory that most of our coal was formed during a period of time (Carboniferous-Permian age, about 299 million years ago) when fungus had not evolved enzymes to digest lignin. Plant material was thought to have… Continue reading Coal Formation Not Correlated with Fungal Evolution