Fossilized fungi in subseafloor Eocene basalts

Ivarsson, Magnus; Bengtson, Stefan; Belivanova, Veneta; Stampanoni, Marco; Marone, Federica; Tehler, Anders

doi:10.1130/g32590.1

Cited by 64 publications

(123 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…(2) When studying fossilized microorganisms, the normal strategy is to observe them preserved and embedded in a mineral phase that can be directly dated or at least associated with a geological process or context that, in turn, can be correlated with a geological event or age. This is the case for fossilized microorganisms previously observed at sites 1203, 1204, 1205 and 1206 of the Emperor Seamounts (Ivarsson and Holm 2008;Ivarsson et al 2008aIvarsson et al , 2008bIvarsson et al , 2012. In those publications the microorganisms were embedded and fossilized in hydrothermally formed carbonates.…”

Section: Biogenicity Of Putative Fossilized Microorganismsmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…Peckmann et al 2008;Eickmann et al 2009), and have been associated with high amounts of carbon, phosphates, hydrocarbons and chitin as well as lipids and DNA (e.g. Ivarsson and Holm 2008;Ivarsson et al 2008aIvarsson et al , 2008bIvarsson et al , 2012. Thus, subseafloor basement down to at least 900 m depth below seafloor is today recognized as a niche for microbial life, and the geological context of the present sample set is compatible with life.…”

Section: Biogenicity Of Putative Fossilized Microorganismsmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…Size, however, cannot be used as a distinct criterion to distinguish between prokaryotes and eukaryotes, since bacterial cells of millimetre size and filaments of centimetre length are known (Schulz and Jørgensen 2001). The morphology of the networks and their filamentous structures is indistinguishable from that of the fossilized fungal hyphae described by Ivarsson et al (2012). Those fossilized fungi were observed in samples from site 1206 and were preserved in calcite.…”

Section: Biogenicity Of Putative Fossilized Microorganismsmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…Thus, it is most probable that the filamentous structures are contemporaneous with the hydrothermal activity and with the life span of the subsequently fossilized microorganisms described by Ivarsson et al (2008aIvarsson et al ( , 2008bIvarsson et al ( , 2012. branching is common among most microorganisms (Ehrlich 2002).…”

Section: Biogenicity Of Putative Fossilized Microorganismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, current knowledge of the subseafloor biosphere is based mainly on fossilized material. In the present paper complex networks of fossilized filamentous structures are examined in samples from the Emperor Seamounts in which Ivarsson et al (2012) had already observed fossilized fungal mycelia preserved in vesicle-filling minerals. If such structures were to occur also in open vesicles, it would challenge standard protocols for establishing biogenicity and call for extra care in data interpretation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fungal colonies in open fractures of subseafloor basalt

et al. 2013

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The deep subseafloor crust is one of the few great frontiers of unknown biology on Earth and, still today, the notion of the deep biosphere is commonly based on the fossil record. Interpretation of palaeobiological information is thus central in the exploration of this hidden biosphere and, for each new discovery, criteria used to establish biogenicity are challenged and need careful consideration. In this paper networks of fossilized filamentous structures are for the first time described in open fractures of subseafloor basalts collected at the Emperor Seamounts, Pacific Ocean. These structures have been investigated with optical microscopy, environmental scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectrometer, X-ray powder diffraction as well as synchrotron-radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy, and interpreted as fossilized fungal mycelia. Morphological features such as hyphae, yeastlike growth and sclerotia were observed. The fossilized fungi are mineralized by montmorillonite, a process that probably began while the fungi were alive. It seems plausible that the fungi produced mucilaginous polysaccharides and/or extracellular polymeric substances that attracted minerals or clay particles, resulting in complete fossilization by montmorillonite. The findings are in agreement with previous observations of fossilized fungi in subseafloor basalts and establish fungi as regular inhabitants of such settings. They further show that fossilized microorganisms are not restricted to pore spaces filled by secondary mineralizations but can be found in open pore spaces as well. This challenges standard protocols for establishing biogenicity and calls for extra care in data interpretation.

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Section: Biogenicity Of Putative Fossilized Microorganismsmentioning

confidence: 74%

Section: Biogenicity Of Putative Fossilized Microorganismsmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Biogenicity Of Putative Fossilized Microorganismsmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Biogenicity Of Putative Fossilized Microorganismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fungal colonies in open fractures of subseafloor basalt

et al. 2013

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A New Frontier for Palaeobiology: Earth's Vast Deep Biosphere

McMahon

Ivarsson

2019

BioEssays

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Diverse micro‐organisms populate a global deep biosphere hosted by rocks and sediments beneath land and sea, containing more biomass than any other biome except forests. This paper reviews an emerging palaeobiological archive of these dark habitats: microfossils preserved in ancient pores and fractures in the crust. This archive, seemingly dominated by mineralized filaments (although rods and coccoids are also reported), is presently far too sparsely sampled and poorly understood to reveal trends in the abundance, distribution, or diversity of deep life through time. New research is called for to establish the nature and extent of the fossil record of Earth's deep biosphere by combining systematic exploration, rigorous microanalysis, and experimental studies of both microbial preservation and the formation of abiotic pseudofossils within the crust. It is concluded that the fossil record of Earth's largest microbial habitat may still have much to tell us about the history of life, the evolution of biogeochemical cycles, and the search for life on Mars.

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A Cryptic Alternative for the Evolution of Hyphae

et al. 2020

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A growing awareness of a subsurface fossil record of mostly hyphal fungi organisms stretching back through the Phanerozoic to ≈400 megaannum (Ma) and possibly earlier, provides an alternative view on hyphal development. Parallel with the emergence of hyphal fungi during Ordovician-Devonian times when plants colonized the land, which is the traditional notion of hyphal evolution, hyphae-based fungi existed in the deep biosphere. New insights suggest that the fundamental functions of hyphae may have evolved in response to an ancient subsurface endolithic life style and might have been in place before the colonization of land. To address the gaps in the current understanding of hyphal evolution a strategy based on research prospects involving investigations of uncharted geological material, new diagnostics, and comparisons to live species is proposed.

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Fossilized fungi in subseafloor Eocene basalts

Cited by 64 publications

References 31 publications

Fungal colonies in open fractures of subseafloor basalt

Fungal colonies in open fractures of subseafloor basalt

A New Frontier for Palaeobiology: Earth's Vast Deep Biosphere

A Cryptic Alternative for the Evolution of Hyphae

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