Starch is a major component in the human diet, and the acquisition of starch-rich food sources is considered a pivotal step in the biological and cultural evolution of humankind. However, the potential role of starch as an energy vector in paleo-ecosystems has never been addressed, obviously due to the lack of tangible records of pre- Quaternary starch grains. Here we describe ~280-m.y.-old lycopsid megaspores from Permian forest-swamp deposits in north China that bear caps of granular material. Size, shape, and surface structures as well as chemical and optical properties of these grains show that these caps are masses of compound storage starch. This is by far the oldest unequivocal record of fossil starch known to date. Deposition outside the actual megaspore container makes it unlikely that these starches were used for embryo nutrition; moreover, ultrathin sections of the megaspores indicate that they may have been produced after the megaspores were fertilized. By analogy to the elaiosomes on seeds of zoochorous plants today, we suggest that these starch caps were used to attract and reward animals, possibly land arthropods or snails, for megaspore dispersal. This study offers a rare glimpse into early stages of plant–animal co-evolution in Permian swamp-forest ecosystems.
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JOURNAL ARTICLE
280-m.y.-old fossil starch reveals early plant–animal mutualism
Feng Liu
Feng Liu
1
Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China2
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
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Benjamin Bomfleur
Benjamin Bomfleur
3
Palaeobotany Research Group, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
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Huiping Peng
Huiping Peng
1
Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China4
University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230000, China
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Quan Li
Quan Li
5
Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 10000, China
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Hans Kerp
Hans Kerp
3
Palaeobotany Research Group, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
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Huaicheng Zhu
Huaicheng Zhu
1
Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China2
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
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Geology (2018)
Published:
March 01, 2018
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Feng Liu, Benjamin Bomfleur, Huiping Peng, Quan Li, Hans Kerp, Huaicheng Zhu; 280-m.y.-old fossil starch reveals early plant–animal mutualism. Geology doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G39929.1
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