MACNBR   00242
MUSEO ARGENTINO DE CIENCIAS NATURALES "BERNARDINO RIVADAVIA"
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Evidence of fungal activity in silicified gymnosperm wood from the Eocene of southern Patagonia (Argentina)
Autor/es:
PUJANA, ROBERTO ROMÁN; GARCÍA MASSINI, JUAN LEANDRO; RODRÍGUEZ BRIZUELA, RAFAEL; BURRIEZA, HERNÁN PABLO
Revista:
GEOBIOS
Referencias:
Año: 2009
ISSN:
0016-6995
Resumen:
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Evidence of fungal activity expressed as typical decay patterns is
described from silicified podocarpaceous
wood from the Eocene of Patagonia, Argentina. Decay features consist of
tracheids of the secondary xylem that are degraded, resulting in thin-celled,
lignin-free, translucent, circular to elliptical areas, some of which have
cells devoid of all cell wall components including lignin, hemicellulose, and
cellulose, and other areas that show only partial simultaneous decay of all
cell wall layers. These patterns conform to the white rot and its variant white
pocket rot decay patterns produced by basidiomycetes and ascomycetes in
gymnosperm and angiosperm wood in modern terrestrial ecosystems. Coagulated
opaque bodies in the lumen of some cells and enlarged secondary walls may
represent host reactions to infection or remains of metabolic products of
fungal enzymatic activity. Similar decay patterns and reaction features have
been described from fossil woods ranging in age from the Devonian to the present.
This record expands the fossil record of wood rot fungi and underscores their
importance as drivers of biological cycles in ancient terrestrial ecosystems.