Synchytrium permicus is the first known Permian chytridiomycete (Synchytriaceae). It is assigned to extant members of Synchytrium, based on the endobiotic parasitic habit, the production of thin- and thick-walled sporangia, and the fusion of isogamous gametes as a part of the life cycle. The delicate preservation of fossil fungi like S. permicus constitutes a unique opportunity to reconstruct past life cycles and to study hosts/parasite interactions in ancient ecosystems. Massive infection of plant tissues, occurrence of a single sporangium per host cell, and a wide shape and size range of zoospores and sporangia may be characteristic of Synchytriaceae precursors in past environments. S. permicus shows that the preservation of several elements of a recognized life cycle can be useful in assessing the affinities of fossil fungal taxa.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank T. Taylor for his help and guidance during the development of this project, which was part of my master's thesis in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS. Also, I thank. S. Klavins, T. Echelle, A. Echelle, and B. Jacobs, for helpful suggestions regarding the manuscript. Many thanks also to all my collegues in TNT's lab at KU: D. Kellog, M. Krings, J. Mellard, R. Serbert, and E. Taylor. I am also indebted to my best critic L. Echelle to whom I dedicate this paper.
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