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Blue-stain fungus from the Jurassic provides new insights into early evolution and ecological interactions

Summary

Scientists discovered a fossilized blue-stain fungus from the Jurassic period in China, pushing back the earliest known record of these fungi by 80 million years. Blue-stain fungi are wood-colonizing organisms that cause discoloration in trees and can accelerate tree death when paired with wood-boring insects. This discovery reveals that these fungi and their relationships with insects evolved much earlier than previously thought, providing new understanding of ancient forest ecosystems and the evolution of fungal-insect interactions.

Background

Blue-stain fungi are wood-colonizing fungi that cause sapwood discoloration, particularly in conifers, and often accelerate tree mortality when associated with wood-boring insects. The earliest fossil record of blue-stain fungi was previously documented from the Upper Cretaceous in South Africa. This study reports a fossil blue-stain fungus from the Jurassic period, significantly extending the known fossil record.

Objective

To document and characterize a fossil blue-stain fungus from the Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation in western Liaoning Province, China, and to provide insights into the early evolution and ecological associations of this fungal group with wood-boring insects.

Results

Well-preserved septate hyphae with dark pigmentation and appressorium-like structures with penetration pegs were identified in Jurassic wood tissues. The hyphae exhibited preferential colonization of ray parenchyma cells and mechanical penetration of tracheid walls, consistent with modern blue-stain fungi. Two morphological hypha types were observed, matching patterns seen in contemporary blue-stain fungi.

Conclusion

The Jurassic fossil blue-stain fungus extends the earliest fossil record by approximately 80 million years, indicating that Sordariomycetes originated by the Middle to Late Jurassic. The findings suggest that the symbiotic relationship between blue-stain fungi and Scolytinae bark beetles evolved after the Middle to Late Jurassic, with other wood-colonizing insects likely serving as spore dispersal vectors during the Jurassic period.
  • Published in:National Science Review,
  • Study Type:Paleontological Research,
  • Source: 10.1093/nsr/nwaf160; PMID: 40433055
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