{"id":18230,"date":"2022-10-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-10T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=18230"},"modified":"2022-11-02T12:51:26","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T11:51:26","slug":"the-explainer-fungi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/2022\/10\/11\/the-explainer-fungi\/","title":{"rendered":"The explainer: Fungi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
THE EXPLAINER:<\/span><\/h5>\n\n

FUNGI<\/h2>\n\n

THIS DIVERSE KINGDOM INCLUDES YEASTS, MOULDS, MUSHROOMS AND TOADSTOOLS <\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

What are fungi? <\/h4>\n\n

Fungi are decomposing, fermenting, edible, toxic, carbon-sequestering, disease-causing, disease-curing, pollutant-busting, mind-bending, rain-generating, zombie-making marvels. They underpin almost all life on Earth, but are mostly situated underground and often overlooked. <\/p>\n\n

When we think of fungi, mushrooms spring to mind, but these are just the small \u2018above ground\u2019 portion of the organism. Mushrooms are the fruiting body of the fungus, like the apples on a tree. Most of the fungus is hidden underground in the form of a branching network of tubular filaments called mycelium. If you took a teaspoon of healthy soil and lined up all the mycelium within it, it would stretch up to 10km. <\/p>\n\n

Plant or animal? <\/h4>\n\n

Neither. Fungi belong to their own kingdom of life. It contains an estimated 2.2 to 3.8 million species, of which only 148,000 species or so have been described. Fungi used to be seen as simple plants, but scientists now realise that they are more closely related to animals. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cSpread over 9km2<\/sup>, Oregon\u2019s \u2018Humongous Fungus\u2019 is thought to be the world\u2019s largest living organism\u201d <\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Fungi come in a wide range of sizes. They can be single-celled and microscopic, like the yeast used in the beer-brewing industry, but they can also be multicellular and massive. Spread over an astonishing 9km2<\/sup>, the \u2018Humongous Fungus\u2019 in Oregon\u2019s Malheur National Forest is thought to be the world\u2019s largest living organism. It weighs hundreds of tonnes and is estimated to be between 2,000 and 8,000 years old. <\/p>\n\n

How do fungi interact with plants? <\/h4>\n\n

Around 90 per cent of land-living plants have fungi living in their roots. A single plant can house dozens of different species. Mycorrhizal fungi, as they are known, send out fine fungal tubes that penetrate the root tips of plants. The result is a mutually beneficial relationship, where the fungi siphon sugars from the plant, and the plant receives water and nutrients in return. <\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n

The plant also becomes tapped into the much wider network of sprawling underground filaments, known as the Wood Wide Web. Plants near and far are connected by it. It enables them to share resources, such as nutrients and carbon, and also information. When broad bean plants are attacked by aphids, for example, they use the subterranean messaging system to send warning signals to neighbouring plants, which respond by releasing aphid-repelling chemicals. <\/p>\n\n

How (and what) do they eat? <\/h4>\n\n

Fungi digest their food externally by secreting enzymes and then absorbing dissolved organic matter. Some fungi actively capture their prey. Arthrobotrys <\/em>oligospora <\/em>lures nematode worms to it by releasing molecules that smell like the worm\u2019s natural food. On arrival, the hapless worm is then dissolved and digested. <\/p>\n\n

Many fungi feed on dead or decaying material, such as rotting logs or animal corpses. As such, they play a vital role in recycling the world\u2019s organic matter. Other fungi are parasites that feed on living organisms. Dutch elm disease (which affects trees) and ringworm (which affects people) are caused by parasitic fungi. All this is just for starters, as fungi can also digest rock, crude oil, plastics, cardboard and even explosive TNT. <\/p>\n\n

Where do they live? <\/h4>\n\n

Just about everywhere, in just about everything\u2026 living organisms, soil, air, water, rock, even nuclear waste sites. Fungi found growing at the ruined Chernobyl nuclear reactor in Ukraine can absorb high levels of radiation, which they use as a source of energy. Now scientists are exploring whether fungi like this could help to protect people from radiation during deep space missions. <\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

How do they reproduce? <\/h4>\n\n

They can reproduce sexually, asexually (without sex) and parasexually (where tiny filaments called hyphae fuse together). Often, reproduction involves the production of spores, which are a bit like the seeds of a plant. Spores are dispersed into the environment, enabling the fungus to colonise new areas. Some fungi eject spores explosively, accelerating up to 10,000 times faster than a post-launch Space Shuttle. Others create their own microclimates. As water evaporates from the gills of a mushroom, it can create an updraught that helps to lift spores into the air. <\/p>\n\n

When did they first evolve? <\/h4>\n\n

Around a billion years ago. The first fungi would have been small, aquatic, single-celled organisms. Roughly 500 million years ago, they helped plants move out of the water onto the land, by acting as their root systems. Then 100 million years later, fungi were the tallest living things on Earth. Prototaxites <\/em>was a massive, trunk-like fungus that grew up to nine metres in height. <\/p>\n\n

Can you farm fungi? <\/h4>\n\n

Yes, but for further advice, please ask the leafcutter ant. These industrious insects feed the leaf fragments they collect to the fungi that they cultivate inside their enormous underground nests. The fungi are fed to the ant\u2019s larvae, and the adults keep the resource in tiptop condition by obsessively monitoring it, feeding it and keeping it pest free. <\/p>\n\n

Can fungi make zombies? <\/h4>\n\n

Yes, the unlucky carpenter ant can become the victim of Ophiocordyceps <\/em>unilateralis, <\/em>the zombie-ant fungus. At the start of an extraordinary sequence of events, the brain of an infected ant becomes hijacked, prompting it to climb a nearby plant and bite into a leaf that is exactly 25cm above the ground, at just the right temperature and humidity for the fungus to grow. The fungus eats the ant\u2019s internal organs and extends a long stalk through its head, which then bursts and rains spores down onto any ants below. The cycle of zombification continues. <\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n

What is the most helpful fungus? <\/h4>\n\n

Fungi can be killers, but they can also save lives. The antibiotic penicillin is produced by the fungus Penicillium. <\/em>It was discovered, by accident, almost 100 years ago, when Alexander Fleming spotted a bacteria-slaying mould growing on a forgotten Petri dish. Since then, penicillin has saved hundreds of millions of lives, added 20 years of life expectancy across the world, and paved the way for countless procedures, such as Caesareans and organ transplants, to be performed with a reduced risk of infection. Penicillium <\/em>is also helpful in food production. Penicillium <\/em>camemberti <\/em>and Penicillium <\/em>roqueforti <\/em>are used in Camembert, Brie, Roquefort and many other cheeses, while Penicillium <\/em>nalgiovense <\/em>is used to boost the flavour of certain sausages and hams. <\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

What is the deadliest fungus? <\/h4>\n\n

Responsible for 90 per cent of the world\u2019s mushroom-related fatalities, the deathcap mushroom is officially the world\u2019s most poisonous mushroom. It looks like some edible mushrooms, such as the puffball and paddy straw, but eating it can lead to organ failure, seizures, coma and death. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe chytrid fungus has caused the decline of over 400 amphibian species, and extinction of 90\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Elsewhere, the chytrid fungus is decimating the world\u2019s amphibians. It enters the animals\u2019 bodies through their skin, upsets their fluid balance, and kills by causing heart failure. Spread around the world by the commercial trade in amphibians, it\u2019s now found on every continent except Antarctica (where there are no amphibians). Over the past 50 years it has caused the decline of more than 400 amphibian species, and the extinction of 90. <\/p>\n\n

How could fungi be used in the future? <\/h4>\n\n

There are so many opportunities for fungi. Fungi can be used to break down pollutants, such as pesticides, plastics and crude oil. Mycelium mats can filter contaminants, such as heavy metals, from dirty water. Fungi can be used to break down waste products from food production and the building sector, and build sustainable, carbon-neutral materials, such as fabrics and construction materials. The Trichoderma <\/em>fungus can turn crop waste into bioethanol, while elsewhere in agriculture, fungi are being used to boost crop growth and help control disease. <\/p>\n\n

<\/div>
\n

5 WAYS THAT FUNGI AFFECT OUR LIVES <\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
1.<\/strong> <\/span><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

I<\/span>taconic acid, derived from <\/span><\/span>Aspergillus <\/span><\/em>fungi, is used in a wide range of industries. Products include LEGO, plastic car parts, printing inks, UV coatings and synthetic rubber.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
2.<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

More than 200 species of fungi are thought to be hallucinogenic. Psilocybin, found in magic mushrooms, is being explored as a treatment for depression and anxiety.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
3.<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Adidas has developed a pair of trainers made from mycelium, and Stella McCartney has premiered a \u2018panelled bustier and utilitarian trouser set\u2019 fashioned from the same fungal product.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
4.<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Fungi can influence the weather. When their spores occur in clouds, they can seed raindrops and spur the formation of ice crystals, which can fall as snow, sleet or hail.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
5<\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The global market for edible mushrooms is worth over $42bn per year. But out of the estimated 10,000 mushroom species found worldwide, only about 350 species are known to be edible.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n
DR HELEN PILCHER<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

(@HelenPilcher1<\/a><\/em>) Helen is a freelance science writer and performer.<\/p>\n\n

<\/em><\/p>\n\n

ILLUSTRATIONS: SAM FALCONER<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE EXPLAINER: FUNGI THIS DIVERSE KINGDOM INCLUDES YEASTS, MOULDS, MUSHROOMS AND TOADSTOOLS What are fungi? Fungi are decomposing, fermenting, edible, toxic, carbon-sequestering, disease-causing, disease-curing, pollutant-busting, mind-bending, rain-generating, zombie-making marvels. They underpin almost all life on Earth, but are mostly situated underground and often overlooked. When we think of fungi, mushrooms spring to mind, but these […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":18223,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"82","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"82","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_82-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_82-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"October-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"October-2022","purple_external_id":"October-2022-82-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"October-2022-82-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000089659||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000089659||","purple_android_product":"com.focus.magazine.issue383","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.focus.magazine.issue383.2","purple_ios_product":"com.focus.magazine.issue383","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.focus.magazine.issue383.2","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"0f422ad1-c939-476d-9f82-a410052ad4c3","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2022-10-11T10:41:03Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"423111dc-3f6c-4ecf-8691-2ff851467ebf","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2022-10-12T08:58:33Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AQjER3D9sTs-GkS_4UUZ-vw","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[30],"tags":[15],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/10\/e86b2b00-3308-45f8-9635-52b4228d4136.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"8","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/10\/e86b2b00-3308-45f8-9635-52b4228d4136.jpg",1537,2048,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/10\/e86b2b00-3308-45f8-9635-52b4228d4136-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/10\/e86b2b00-3308-45f8-9635-52b4228d4136-225x300.jpg",225,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/10\/e86b2b00-3308-45f8-9635-52b4228d4136-768x1023.jpg",768,1023,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/10\/e86b2b00-3308-45f8-9635-52b4228d4136-769x1024.jpg",769,1024,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/10\/e86b2b00-3308-45f8-9635-52b4228d4136-1153x1536.jpg",1153,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/10\/e86b2b00-3308-45f8-9635-52b4228d4136.jpg",1537,2048,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"THE EXPLAINER: FUNGI THIS DIVERSE KINGDOM INCLUDES YEASTS, MOULDS, MUSHROOMS AND TOADSTOOLS What are fungi? Fungi are decomposing, fermenting, edible, toxic, carbon-sequestering, disease-causing, disease-curing, pollutant-busting, mind-bending, rain-generating, zombie-making marvels. They underpin almost all life on Earth, but are mostly situated underground and often overlooked. When we think of fungi, mushrooms spring to mind, but these…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18230"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18230"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22826,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18230\/revisions\/22826"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}