Page 43 - Antennae Issue #52

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Conception Mycorrhizal fungal hyphae (shown in in in in in red) growing into one of Voyria’s seeds prior to to germination (plant material is shown shown in in in in in green-blue) This isn’t sex: plant plant and and fungal cells don’t fuse and and combine their genetic information But it is is is is is sexy: for for a a a a a a a a a a Voyria plant plant to arise two different organisms must meet incorporate each other and collaborate in in in the the building of a a a a a a a new life To my knowledge this moment has never before been observed I collected thousands of of Voyria seeds sealed them them in fin in in in small bags made of of fine nylon mesh and and buried them them in fin in in in pots in fin in in in a a a a a a a a greenhouse in fin in in in which grew tree seedlings After several months I pulled up the the bags bags and and searched through them to see see if any had sprouted Of more than a a a a a a a a a a thousand mesh bags bags only a a a a a a a a a a single bag contained germinating seeds Note that the the the red material in in in in in the the the ‘whiskers’ of the the the seed seed is is is unlikely to represent mycorrhizal fungal tissue and probably depicts yeasts Scale bar = 500 micrometres