Seriously though what even are fungus? Straddling some weird position between plants and animals, containing an impressive amount of shared DNA with humans, engaged in weird psycho-chemical communion with the forest, dancing on the edge of immortality?
Mushrooms are much, much more closely related to animals than they are to plants.
A billion and a half years ago , the only organisms on Earth were single-celled bacteria and archaea living in the ocean. Bacteria and archaea are very similar. It's rather technical, but the slight differences between bacteria and archaea have to deal with genes for membrane and cell wall construction. Both types of organisms were very simple, and, like all life, share a common ancestor, thought to trace its ancestral lineage back to a single RNA molecule around 4 billion years ago. The ancestor to all life on earth is called LUCA (the Last Universal Common Ancestor) in biology. Despite their similarity and simplicity, both groups of organisms had remarkable variety and diversity, but bacteria had some more "advanced" techniques.
For example, one bacterium (closely related to modern-day rickettsia) had developed a very complex energy-generation procedure with various enzymes. One step in the process used energy from the environment (glucose and other simple carbohydrates were probably the primary food source) to concentrate protons (hydrogen ions) into a membrane, which creates an electrical gradient. Electrical gradients flow from positive to nagative, so by concentrating protons, it creates an outward force from the electrical potential . An enzyme called ATP synthase is believed to rotate, like a motor, at the force of these protons flowing from one side of the membrane to the other. The enzyme accepts ADP (a precursor molecule to ATP ). It uses the energy of rotation to catalyse the chemical reaction which turns ADP into ATP . ATP is the chemical used for energy storage by cells. This sophisticated bacterium is called the protomitochondrion .
In 2010, scientists drilled a cylindrical core out of a deep-sea hydrothermal vent (hydrothermal vents are fractures in the ocean floor where the action of tectonic plates causes the expulsion of boiling water into the ocean). In the core sample, scientists found modern-day archaea which , remarkably, can be shown through multiple converging lines of inquiry to be in a single line of descent with plants, animals, and fungi. The group was named "Lokiarchaeota," after the Norse shape-shifting deity, to refer to the lineage's ability to "shape-shift" over evolutionary time into so many diverse groups.
A billion and a half years ago, an archaeote, from the Lokiarchaeota lineage, ate the aforementioned bacterium (the protomitochondrion), and rather than destroying the bacterium, simply fed off of its amazing capacity to generate ATP. The protomitochondrion became a symbiotic organism within the archaea, and, over time, was incorporated as an organelle - the mitochondrion, the "powerhouse of the cell." This new method of internal energy generation is what allowed complex life - animals, plants, and fungi, to evolve. Organisms descended from the lokiarchaeote which ate a protomitochondrion are called " Eukaryotes ."
The same thing happened many millions of years later when one of the decedents of a lokiarchaeote ate a different bacterium (called a cyanobacterium ), capable of using energy from sunlight to catalyse chemical reactions which turns carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms from CO2 and H2O molecules into energy storage molecules. Thus, the ancestor to all plants gained the ability to photosynthesise. But at that time, a different descended lineage of lokiarchaeota, the one which would give rise to animals and fungi, had already split off.
A group of flagellum-wagging, single-celled Eukaryotes called Opisthokonts split into two groups of organisms, holomycota and holozoa . Holomycota eventually picked up the habit of forming colonies (or, potentially, but controversially, inherited it from Opisthokonta), and from those colony-forming cells descended all fungi . For animals, it's a bit more complicated, and we have a lot of "cousin" single-celled organisms one might be forgiven for mistaking for animals. Basically, Holozoa split into two groups, ichthyosporea and filozoa . Filozoa split into two groups, filasteria and choanozoa . Choanozoa split into two groups, choanoflagella , and animals .
Animals and fungi are the descendants of the opisthokonts. The opisthokonts and the plants are the descendants of the Eukaryotes. Eukaryotes and Lokiarchaeota are descended from older archaea, which is related to bacteria (and, thus, all life on Earth) because both descended from LUCA (the Last Universal Common Ancestor).
A billion and a half years ago, an archaeote from the Lokiarchaeota lineage, ate the aforementioned bacterium (the protomitochondrion), and rather than destroying the bacterium, simply fed off of its amazing capacity to generate ATP. The protomitochondrion became a symbiotic organism within the archaea, and, over time, was incorporated as an organelle - the mitochondrion, the “powerhouse of the cell.” This new method of internal energy generation is what allowed complex life - animals, plants, and fungi, to evolve. Organisms descended from the lokiarchaeote which ate a protomitochondrion are called “Eukaryotes.”
The same thing happened many millions of years later when one of the decedents of a lokiarchaeote ate a different bacterium (called a cyanobacterium), capable of using energy from sunlight to catalyse a chemical reaction which turns carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms from CO2 and H2O molecules into energy storage molecules. Thus, the ancestor to all plants gained the ability to photosynthesise.
mfw Vore is the key to evolution :walter-breakdown:
But everything changed when the fire nation invaded.
I yelled "The Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell!" out loud and scared the cat.
I sort of hate that phrase, but that's just me being curmudgeonly. Thanks to that phrase alone, millions of people now known the name of a cellular organelle, and the function it plays in cellular life. But even so, the story of the mitochondrion is alluring by itself, and I love telling it.
i recently read the mushroom at the end of the world: on the possibility of life in capitalist ruins by left-wing anthropologist anna tsing, which i highly recommend. very hard to summarise, but begins with an exploration of matsutake mushrooms and how incredibly weird they are, and uses this as a launching pad into discussions of complex systems of interdependency and disturbance, commodity fetishism and the interplay of different systems of value at the edges of capitalist spheres, the people involved at the various stages of the chain and thier lives at the edges of capitalism, forest management (particularly the fascinating japanese concept of the satoyama peasant forest for human cohabitation with nature), and a whole bunch of other stuff.
anyway relevant to this thread is that mushrooms are way weirder than we think, and matsutake mushrooms are one of the weirdest of a weird bunch that nobody has been able to cultivate, and which mostly only really grow in human-disturbed forests, and that theres a huge interplay within the fungal body itself and with the other organisms in their environment (including humans). like the fungal body mates with other parts of itself and transfers parts of its dna to itself because its dna varies across the fungal body which is impossible to really characterise as a single organism, and also has complex interdependencies with various species of trees, and the whole thing is like a vast network thats just constantly in flux. i may have got some details wrong, but anyway very cool
Fungus are probably one of the weirdest things of the planet, and spores are totally vacuum of space viable. So there's quite likely weird fungii all over the universe. Then there's also slime molds which are now classified distinctly from fungus, but also have some weird shit going on, including some wacky problem solving intelligence like ability (and spores too).
When you add the concept of lateral gene transfer (gene transfers across unrelated species), it really kinda fuzzies up the whole 'tree of life' ordered hierarchy of life story beyond recognition. The interconnectedness of life is so much more deep and complex than the stories we tell ourselves.
it really kinda fuzzies up the whole ‘tree of life’ ordered hierarchy of life story beyond recognition. The interconnectedness of life is so much more deep and complex than the stories we tell ourselves.
Another good example is lichen: it's not a moss, not a plant - it doesn't even have roots; it's a composite organism made out of fungi and bacteria / algae, living together as one organism in a mutual relationship. Hence this quote I like by this guy: Lichens are fungi that have discovered agriculture.
Without simplifying and abstracting information, our brains wouldn't be able to comprehend the infinite fidelity of the universe.
I like to think about the discovery of the epigenome, which demonstrates that even a process we think we understand perfectly (like DNA transcription and translation) can be beyond our ability to study at all.
As you probably know, all viruses ever discovered lack the ability to replicate by themselves, and can only do so by infecting a host cell, and co-opting the molecular machinery of the cell to turn its genes into proteins, enzymes, and more genes.
I used to wonder where viruses came from, and whether it was possible that they belong to the same clade as all living organisms. I wondered if viruses could be a form of proto-life. In reality, viruses probably originated from within "living things" that already existed, and only later broke away to become rogue elements.
The genomes of most (all?) living things contain certain sequences called transposable elements, aka transposons . These sequences, though part of an organism's genome, can move around, and relocate. A large amount of an organism's genome is often in the form of transposons. Some researchers have suggested transposons as the origin of viruses. This is especially likely in the plant kingdom - angiosperms are often infected by a pathogen called a " viroid ," which is similar to an RNA virus. Researchers believe that viroids come from rogue retrotransposons .
Furthermore, there is a gene in some clades of animals that hints at the relationship between viruses and living organisms. The ARC gene seems to be essential to brain function in vertebrates, because it regulates several aspects of synaptic plasticity. The ARC gene is not an ordinary gene , however. For one thing , its transcribed RNA can jump out of its place in the genome, build a protein capsule, leave its own cell, and enter a nearby cell to be translated. Very virus-like behaviour! And obviously this gene is useful: It helps the brain coordinate over long distances, because it's mobile. But it wasn't inherited into our lineage. The leading hypothesis is that this gene is left over from a viral infection of vertebrates some time in animals' evolutionary past. Insects have a copy of this gene, too, but we think they got theirs independently , and those two lineages of slightly-different ARC gene have been evolving separately ever since. This is related to the fact that retroviruses can change the DNA of the organisms they infect. Lineages of organisms with viral DNA can even begin to produce the viruses endogenously . This means there is a strong history of co-evolution on a molecular level between viruses and living organisms.
Also, one last thing. There are these viruses called giant viruses , who belong to a group called " nucleocytoviricota ," and can reproduce using the host cell's nucleus, but can ALSO reproduce using the host cell's cytoplasm (which is full of molecular machines used to turn every type of DNA and RNA into every other type). Giant viruses can be larger than the cells they want to infect, so they can eat the cell instead, and take its cytoplasm for their replication. These viruses are so large, that they often get invaded by OTHER viruses.
Fungi are only not classified as animals because big vegan has its hands in the shroom industry.
I believe they might be an organism from the world of spirits and beings on higher planes of reality which is why they seem to be so otherworldly. These spirits purposely planted them here on Earth so that we can cross over and interact with them (Psilocybes aka magic mushrooms). It would also explain why some of them are so powerful and can instantly kill you or cause delirium, like amanita muscarias and death caps
When our universe dies its corpse will be consumed by mushrooms which will allow its material to concentrate into a new universe, thus beginning the cycle anew.
click to become 1 with the allgender
:shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak::shroomjak:
