Research: Fungus Helps Absorb 20% of Oceans Carbon

In a new study, scientists have found that tiny algae in Earth's oceans and lakes absorb  solar

light and carbon dioxide and convert them into sugar, which maintains the balance of the aquatic food web. At the same time, they absorb as much carbon as all the trees and plants on the planet combined.

However, scientists did not understand what was happening inthe process of “fixing” CO2 in phytoplankton and its subsequent release into the atmosphere or sinking to a depth where it no longer contributes to global warming. This element turned out to be a fungus.

Until now, researchers have assumed thatmost of the carbon ends up in bacteria or dissolves in the surrounding water, where it is absorbed by other organisms. The conventional wisdom is that carbon leaves this microbial loop mainly through large organisms. However, it turned out that the fungus can create a "fast lane for carbon" - transferring about 20% of substances to a higher level of the food chain.

The first people appeared in North America 20 thousand years earlier: 30 thousand years ago

The authors measured and analyzed interactionswithin the pathosystem of Lake Stechlin using genomic sequencing - a method of fluorescence microscopy, which involves the attachment of a fluorescent dye to RNA inside microbial cells. Then, nanoscale maps of isotopes of elements present in materials in small quantities are created.

Research findings also have implicationsfor industrial and recreational facilities that deal with harmful algal blooms. “In aquaculture, fungicides can be added to the water to maintain the health of the main crop such as fish. This will prevent fungal infection of the fish, but it could also eliminate the natural control of algal blooms, which costs the industry an estimated $ 8 billion a year, ”the scientists noted.

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