The Jurassic epiphytic macrolichen Daohugouthallus reveals the oldest lichen-plant interaction in a Mesozoic forest ecosystem
Qiuxia Yang,
Yanyan Wang,
Robert Lücking,
H. Thorsten Lumbsch,
Zhenyong Du,
Yunkang Chen,
Ming Bai,
Dong Ren,
Jiangchun Wei,
Hu Li,
Yongjie Wang,
Xinli Wei
Affiliations
Qiuxia Yang
State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Yanyan Wang
State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Robert Lücking
Botanischer Garten, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
H. Thorsten Lumbsch
Science & Education, The Field Museum, Chicago, IL 60605, USA
Zhenyong Du
Department of Entomology, MOA Key Lab of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Yunkang Chen
School of Agriculture, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China; College of Plant Protection, Agricultural University of Hebei, Baoding 071001, China
Ming Bai
Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Dong Ren
College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China
Jiangchun Wei
State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Hu Li
Department of Entomology, MOA Key Lab of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; Corresponding author
Yongjie Wang
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510260, China; Corresponding author
Xinli Wei
State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Corresponding author
Summary: Lichens are well known as pioneer organisms or stress-tolerant extremophiles, potentially playing a core role in the early formation of terrestrial ecosystems. Epiphytic macrolichens are known to contribute to the water- and nutrient cycles in forest ecosystem. But due to the scarcity of fossil record, the evolutionary history of epiphytic macrolichens is poorly documented. Based on new fossil of Jurassic Daohugouthallus ciliiferus, we demonstrate the hitherto oldest known macrolichen inhabited a gymnosperm branch. We applied energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and geometric morphometric analysis to complementarily verify lichen affinity of D. ciliiferus and quantitatively assess the potential relationships with extant lichenized lineages, providing new approaches for study of this lichen adpression fossil. Considering the results, and the inferred age of D. ciliiferus, a new family, Daohugouthallaceae, is established. This work updates current knowledge to the early evolution of epiphytic macrolichens and reveals more complex lichen-plant interactions in a Jurassic forest ecosystem.
