this post was submitted on 18 Feb 2024
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[โ€“] hglman@lemmy.world 12 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Correct, the downside is lots of nonviable offspring. I would guess the fungus needs to be able to colonize widely without sexual reproduction as well in order to take advantage of that rapid adaptation.

[โ€“] niktemadur@lemmy.world 9 points 9 months ago

Fascinating, I feel like I just caught a good glimpse of how fungus paved the way for the rest of life on Earth - wherever plant and animal life arrive, the fungus got there first.