Uncovering the fascinating world of fungi, and how they may be the 21st century’s answer to climate change.
By: Mariia 8.3
Now, here’s a quick question. What’s the largest living organism on the planet? A giant sequoia redwood? A blue whale?
Well, arguably, it’s Armillaria ostoyae, a huge honey fungus, living in a large forest in Oregon, USA. It covers over 9 square kilometres and is thought to be 2400 years old in the least.
Mind-boggled? Well, what if I told you that there were many other types of fungi that could control insects’ brains, absorb oil spills, and generally, are essential to all terrestrial life on Earth?
There’s still so much we don’t know…in fact, over 90% of all fungi species on Earth haven’t been discovered yet!
Ok, now let’s get onto some real facts.
If you are that person who thinks of fungi as just vegetables on your pizza, you’re not alone. In fact, until the 1960s, thanks to early Victorian botanists, fungi were classified as plants.
Despite this, fungi are not plants nor animals. They have a kingdom of their own and are genetically closer to animals than plants. As surprising as it may seem, the genetic code of fungi has more in common with us than a potato.
Fungi also have the capability of controlling other organisms. While some fungi species obtain nutrients by breaking down dead foliage and wood, other fungi are what is known to be as mycorrhizal. It is when fungi attach and intertwine their roots into the tissue of the plant, exchanging valuable nutrients between them. These processes form a dense fungal network, called a mycelium. Usually, soil hides millions of masses of these mycelial threads.
Also, some fungi get other species to do work for them. There’s the Leucoagaricus gongylophorus, and its special for using chemical signals that attract leaf-cutter ants and ‘employ’ them.
The ants work cooperatively to form a sort of supply chain, and mind-blowingly enough, they can deliver up to 65,000 leaf fragments an hour to the fungus. And as payment, the fungus grows small, ant-sized mushrooms for them to feed on. Other fungi, like to take more extreme and gruesome methods. For example, cordyceps tend to intrude their insect host, and control their brains, forcing them to climb up high, and then bursting out of their bodies to release their spores into the wind.
Talking of evil masterminds, some fungi can even affect humans. Some conditions could be as common as the athlete’s foot, or some of the lethal ones, aspergillosis, histoplasmosis and candidiasis, just to name a few.
And now, since we’ve got a little insight into the fascinating world of fungi, lets see whether fungi can actually ‘save the world’. After all, mushrooms may also be the 21st century’s answer to climate change.
“[Fungi] are the garbage disposal agents of the natural world,” according to Cardiff Universty biosciences professor Lynne Boddy.
When it comes to cleaning our human messes, some species of fungi, including the oyster mushroom, can absorb oil spills. They produce special enzymes that can break down the oil, and utilise the carbon from it, which is essentially allowing them to feed on the toxic substance.
In the last 15 years, certain mushrooms were deployed to clean up oil spills in the Amazon, boat fuel pollution in Denmark, contaminated soil in New Zealand, and PCBs (poly chlorinated biphenyls) in Washington state’s Spokane River.
As well as that, research does suggest that mushrooms can convert toxic pesticides, insecticides, herbicides etc. in to less harmful compounds, and even break down plastics.
As of plastic-eating mushrooms, pestalotiopsis microspora fungi is one of the few species that are capable of plastic decomposition. Same goes with Aspergillus tubingensis. The fungus is able to break down waste plastics in a matter of weeks that would otherwise persist in the environment for years!
The bad thing though is that modern landfills are dry and oxygen poor. This makes it impossible for anything to decompose properly, including organic material. Pestalotiopsis, as introduced above, is capable of plastic decomposition in anaerobic conditions.
Samantha Jenkins was studying a number of types of fungus in a research project for her company, when one of the fungi made a bid for freedom.
"Imagine a jar full of grain with a kind of lump of mushroom coming out of the top," says the lead biotech engineer for bio-manufacturing firm Biohm."It didn't look particularly exciting or fascinating. But as soon as it was cracked open, it was very, very cool."
The fungus had eaten its way through the plastic sponge intended to seal it in, breaking it down and assimilating it like any other food.
The aim of the project was to evaluate a number of strains of fungus for use in bio-based insulation panels, but the hungry fungus has taken them in another direction. Jenkins is testing their fungus on PET and polyurethane.
"You put in plastic, the fungi eat the plastic, the fungi make more fungi and then from that you can make biomaterials... for food, or feed stocks for animals, or antibiotics." said Jenkins.
Fungi also can, surprising as it is, remove contaminants from water. Mycrofiltration is an environmentally-friendly technology which is about the treatment of contaminated water by passing it through a network of fungal mycelium (which we looked at in the introduction), but we won’t look into that for now.
Did you know that paper can be made from mushrooms? Paper that doesn’t come from trees? Well, for other products, it’s the composition of fungi that matters. Fungi filaments contain chitin, a remarkable polymer also found in exoskeletons and crab shells.
Chitin has a fibrous structure, similar to cellulose in wood, which means that fungal fibre can be made into sheets the same way paper is made. Fascinating?
As well as that, mushroom leather is a vegan-friendly material used as a sustainable and environmet-friendly alternative to animal leather. Mushroom leather is made from mycelium, the vegetative part of a fungus. Plus, it is strong, flexible and durable, just like the transitional leathers. It is also waterproof, and since it’s made from natural fibres , it breathes and feels like leather.
Mushroom-based packaging is also perfect to use instead of the oil-based polystyrene, which tales thousands of years to decompose. IKEA, in fact, has switched to a mycelium-based packaging called MycoCompostie, which can be ‘grown’ in less than a week to the exact shape and size needed using significantly less energy than traditional packaging; after use, it breaks down into harmless materials in a matter of weeks.
Another sustainable development in fungi science is mushroom plastic. Rather than petroleum-based products that last hundreds of years, mushroom plastic containers are 100% compostable after usage. They could offer an ecologically sound alternative to things like styrofoam shipping packing, takeout containers, and more.
And, fascinating as it is, we’ve just only scraped the top; there’s still tons we do not know about fungi! Ok, let’s face it. Fungi are truly fantastic. And not just because they can clean oil spills and nuclear meltdowns, capture carbon, grow buildings, filter water, feed livestock, or even the cheese and the wine, but because, perhaps, they are indeed the 21st century’s answer to the world’s biggest problems.
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