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Symbiosis

Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2019 2:59 pm
by Sauerkraut
It's interesting that microbes routinely cooperate to increase the survival of both species. How much slower might evolution have been if there were only destructive tendencies between individuals and species? Perhaps there wouldn't have been much advancement in evolution at all.

Here's a fungus and an algae that become bffs in a petri dish:

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/fir ... -its-cells

If only there were more answers...

Re: Symbiosis

Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2019 4:06 pm
by billbillt
Thanks for the link...

Regards,
BillT

Re: Symbiosis

Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2019 4:20 pm
by Chris Dee
An interesting article. Symbiosis isn't the norm for fungi, highly intolerant of other colonies. A side effect of their chemical warfare can be very desirable. https://www.ukfungusday.co.uk/blog/fungus-wars The secondary metabolites used in such warfare are being researched actively. Without them we wouldn't have cyclosporin etc, not all destructive tendencies hold back evolution (for us).

Re: Symbiosis

Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2019 5:09 pm
by Sauerkraut
Chris Dee wrote:An interesting article. Symbiosis isn't the norm for fungi, highly intolerant of other colonies. A side effect of their chemical warfare can be very desirable. https://www.ukfungusday.co.uk/blog/fungus-wars The secondary metabolites used in such warfare are being researched actively. Without them we wouldn't have cyclosporin etc, not all destructive tendencies hold back evolution (for us).

Yes of course organisms compete - eat or be eaten - a prevailing mantra of life on earth. Competition is a driving force. But is there more to the essence of biological life?

This article made me more cognizant of the possibility that at the very beginnings of life on earth, organisms had cooperative tendencies that shaped the way life has evolved and developed on earth, likely in ways that are overlooked/understated/taken for granted without real understanding of what we observe.

Also, a quick look online shows about 20% of fungi are participants in lichen formation. That's fairly high - more than I would have expected. I'm not arguing organisms are equipped to kill off/out-compete one another. Just thinking they are also wired to cooperate for enhanced survival.

Re: Symbiosis

Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2019 5:18 pm
by Roldorf
It all depends on what you class as 'fungi' for instance the 'Penny Bun', 'Cep', 'Steinpilz', just a few of the names of this fungi, has a symbiosis with the tree on which it grows. Receiving nourishment from the leaves of the tree through the trees roots it supplies the tree with minerals which helps the tree grow stronger.