Fossils: The earliest green algae discovered
Nature Ecology & Evolution
February 25, 2020
Millimetre-sized, multicellular green algal fossils from rocks dated to around 1,000 million years ago are described in a paper published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
Green, photosynthesizing plants (Viridiplantae) are estimated (using molecular clocks and biomarker analyses) to have arisen sometime between the Palaeoproterozoic era (2,500 - 1,600 million years ago) and the Cryogenian period (720 - 635 million years ago). However, this date has been difficult to pinpoint owing to a lack of fossil evidence. Moreover, it is unknown when green plants developed multicellularity.
Qing Tang and colleagues report a new fossil species of green algae from the 1,000 million-year-old Nanfen Formation in Liaoning, China. Despite its ancient age, this species - named Proterocladus antiquus - shows a range of features consistent with present-day green algae, including multicellularity; differentiated, branched cells; and root-like structures.
The authors conclude that the discovery of P. antiquus helps to validate molecular clock estimates for earlier divergences in the plant kingdom. It could also help answer questions about energy capture in ancient oceans.
doi:10.1038/s41559-020-1122-9
Research highlights
-
May 24
Biotechnology: Tomatoes engineered to produce vitamin DNature Plants
-
May 20
Conservation: Web of unmonitored global arachnid trade revealedCommunications Biology
-
May 20
Psychology: People with neutral attitudes towards vaccines are closer to anti-vaccine viewsScientific Reports
-
May 19
Climate change: Tree deaths increasing in AustraliaNature
-
May 18
Evolution: A middle Pleistocene hominin molar from LaosNature Communications
-
May 18
Biotechnology: Contact lens measures pressure and delivers glaucoma drugNature Communications