UC Riverside Finds 470-Million-Year-Old Fungal Link in Desert Mosses
Updated
Updated · SciTechDaily · Jun 20
UC Riverside Finds 470-Million-Year-Old Fungal Link in Desert Mosses
3 articles · Updated · SciTechDaily · Jun 20
Summary
Mycorrhizal fungal DNA and arbuscule-like structures were found inside desert moss tissues, a pairing long thought absent across all 10,000 known moss species.
Mojave and Sonoran samples collected in heat above 100°F showed fungal communities inside mosses that differed from nearby soil and from less arid mosses, strengthening the case against simple contamination.
Microscopy revealed branching structures in moss leaves rather than true roots, suggesting a selective internal association, though researchers have not yet proved nutrient exchange or formal symbiosis.
The finding could revise ideas about how plants first colonized land roughly 470 million years ago and may eventually inform restoration of fragile desert soil crusts damaged by warming, drought and disturbance.
Could a hidden moss-fungus partnership rewrite the history of how life first conquered land?
Can the secret alliance inside desert mosses help us restore the world's dying arid lands?
Mosses and Mycorrhizal Fungi: Unveiling a 470-Million-Year Symbiosis Critical for Desert Ecosystem Resilience
Overview
In June 2026, researchers from UC Riverside made a groundbreaking discovery that challenges what we thought we knew about mosses. Once believed to be solitary survivors thriving in harsh deserts, mosses were found to host arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) directly within their tissues. This hidden partnership, uncovered in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts, overturns the long-standing belief that early land plants like mosses did not form close relationships with fungi. The discovery reveals a more complex and interconnected system in moss biology, offering new insights into how ancient plants adapted to life on land.