UC Riverside researchers found mycorrhizal fungi inside desert moss from the Mojave and Sonoran, a result that challenges the long-held view that mosses do not form fungal partnerships.
DNA tests showed fungi in dryland moss differed from both wetter-climate moss and nearby soil, suggesting the organisms were not random contamination but potentially climate-linked associates.
Microscopy then revealed blue-stained, branching fungal structures inside moss leaves—similar to nutrient-exchange forms seen in plant roots—though researchers said true symbiosis is not yet proven.
45% of Earth’s land is dryland, where biocrusts cover up to 70% of the surface; understanding moss-fungi interactions could sharpen forecasts for ecosystems facing hotter, drier conditions.
If confirmed, the relationship could also reshape ideas about how plants first colonized land roughly 470 million years ago.
Science was wrong about moss for decades. What other secrets are hiding inside the world's most common plants?
Have scientists found a living fossil of the partnership that first allowed plants to conquer land 470 million years ago?
Groundbreaking UC Riverside Study Finds Internal Fungi in Desert Mosses, Rewriting Plant Evolution History
Overview
Researchers at UC Riverside have made a groundbreaking discovery by finding fungi living inside desert mosses, overturning the long-held belief that mosses do not form symbiotic partnerships with fungi. This finding fundamentally changes our understanding of plant-fungal interactions in arid environments and suggests that such relationships are much older and more widespread than previously thought. The discovery, published in a leading scientific journal, offers new insights into how plants and fungi may have co-evolved, helping plants colonize land millions of years ago. The widespread attention highlights the importance of this research for evolutionary biology.