Geosiphon pyriforme,a fungus forming endocytobiosis withNostoc (Cyanobacteria), is an ancestral member of the glomales: Evidence by SSU rRNA Analysis

Geosiphon pyriforme inhabiting the surface of humid soils represents the only known example of endocytobiosis between a fungus (Zygomycotina; macrosymbiont) and cyanobacteria (Nostoc; endosymbiont). In order to elucidate the taxonomical and evolutionary relationship ofGeosiphon pyriforme to fungi forming arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM fungi), the small-subunit (SSU) ribosomal RNA genes ofGeosiphon pyriforme andGlomus versiforme (Glomales; a typical AM fungus) were analyzed and aligned with SSU rRNA sequences of several Basidiomycetes, Ascomycetes, Chytridiomycetes, and Zygomycetes, together with all AM-fungal (Glomales) sequences published yet. The distinct group of the order Glomales, which includesGeosiphon, does not form a clade with any other group of Zygomycetes. Within the Glomales, two main lineages exist. One includes the families Gigasporaceae and Acaulosporaceae; the other one is represented by the genusGlomus, the members of which are very divergent.Glomus etunicatum andGeosiphon pyriforme both form independent lineages ancestral to the Glomales. The data provided by the present paper confirm clearly thatGeosiphon represents a fungus belonging to the Glomales. The question remains still open as to whether or notGeosiphon is to be placed within or outside the genusGlomus, since this genus is probably polyphyletic and not well defined yet.Geosiphon shows the ability of aGlomus-like fungus to form a “primitive” symbiosis with a unicellular photcautotrophic organism, in this case a cyanobacterium, leading to the conclusion that a hypothetical association of aGlomus-like fungus with a green alga as a step during the evolution of the land plants appears probable. Correspondence to: H. Gehrig