Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Published December 19, 2018 17:01 ET (Brief from the Royal Society)
Researchers identified a single individual of the fungus Armillaria gallica that was extremely large – covering hundreds of tree root systems over approximately 75 hectares of forest – and at least 2,500 years old. Using whole-genome sequencing, the scientists determined that the specimen’s mutations reflected its historical growth from a single point within the forest. The overall rate of mutation, however, was extremely low. The specimen’s genome represents extreme stability compared to the extreme instability typified by cancer.
Lead author: James Anderson, University of Toronto – jb.anderson@utoronto.ca
