Are Geoglossales Fungi Really That Different?

A world where fungi live in secret harmony with plant roots. Some fungi are known to break down plant walls, but this can be a dangerous strategy with plant immune systems fighting back. These specialists form a symbiotic relationship with plants called mycorrhizal. One group of fungi that do this are ericoid mycorrhizal fungi. They have a diverse set of enzymes that help them break down the tough surfaces found in some plants and are found in most of the well-known fungi. But there are still unanswered questions. Researchers have recently started looking into a lesser-known group of fungi called Geoglossales. These fungi are not as well understood, though some think that these fungi could break down plants in a similar way. Scientists were interested in the genome of a particular fungus called Sarcoleotia globosa. The a particular strain was recently found to be grown in a lab, and its genome was examined. There was a big contradiction. Geoglossales have a smaller genome and fewer genes. Scientists have hypothesised that these fungi might carry a larger number of enzymes. Surprisingly, Sarcoleotia globosa carried several enzyme families that were not even found in similar fungi. These results challenged the scientists. It is important to note that the number of found enzymes were considerably less than what was found in the ericoid fungi, which might suggest that there are specific evolutionary adaptations to breaking down the varied plant surfaces of the fungi found in the Geoglossales group. There could also be differences in how these fungi live, suggesting that they are well adapted to the lifestyles they live. Scientists are challenged to try and understand these relationships better and discover whether these enzymes are unique. The findings are a mystery. There are still more questions and hypotheses than answers. It is possible that the fungi are very different to what scientists have studied so far. It remains to be seen what these findings mean to the fungi and their hosts. Further research could provide more answers than questions.