Publicación: AEROTERRESTRIAL COLEOCHAETE (STREPTOPHYTA, COLEOCHAETALES) MODELS EARLY PLANT ADAPTATION TO LAND
Fecha
2011
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Editor
JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY
Resumen
PREMISE OF THE STUDY: THE STREPTOPHYTE WATER-TO-LAND TRANSITION WAS A PIVOTAL, BUT POORLY UNDERSTOOD EVENT IN EARTH HISTORY. WHILE SOME EARLY-DIVERGING MODERN STREPTOPHYTE ALGAE ARE AEROTERRESTRIAL (LIVING IN SUBAERIAL HABITATS), AEROTERRESTRIAL SURVIVAL HAD NOT BEEN TESTED FOR COLEOCHAETE, WIDELY REGARDED AS OBLIGATELY AQUATIC AND ONE OF THE EXTANT GREEN ALGAL GENERA MOST CLOSELY RELATED TO EMBRYOPHYTES. THIS RELATIONSHIP MOTIVATED A COMPARISON OF AEROTERRESTRIAL COLEOCHAETE TO LOWER PALEOZOIC MICROFOSSILS WHOSE RELATIONSHIPS HAVE BEEN UNCERTAIN.
METHODS: WE TESTED THE ABILITY OF TWO SPECIES OF THE EXPERIMENTALLY TRACTABLE, COMPLEX STREPTOPHYTE ALGAL GENUS COLEOCHAETE BRÉB. TO (1) GROW AND REPRODUCE WHEN CULTIVATED UNDER CONDITIONS THAT MIMIC HUMID SUBAERIAL HABITATS, (2) SURVIVE DESICCATION FOR SOME PERIOD OF TIME, AND (3) PRODUCE DEGRADATION-RESISTANT REMAINS COMPARABLE TO ENIGMATIC CAMBRIAN MICROFOSSILS.
