10 amazing facts about mushrooms that inspire respect and awe

1. There are predatory mushrooms

You might get the impression that most mushrooms are harmless. Well, unless you eat some kind of poisonous one and get poisoned. But appearances are deceiving: there are more than 200 species of predatory mushrooms that literally catch prey in their nets and devour it.

Fortunately, they do not prey on humans and are more specialized in nematode worms. Scientists believe that these are the most common animals on the planet, so mushrooms do not lack prey.

carnivorous species appearedPrehistoric meat-eating fungus snared microscopic worms / Discover Magazine not earlier than 100 million years ago and during this time many tricks were invented. For example, one of them weaveK. Liu. How carnivorous fungi use three-celled constricting rings to trap nematodes / Protein Cell

loops from their hyphae threads and wait until some worm crawls there, and then they tighten the knot and digest the victim.

Other trackWorm-Eating Fungi Eavesdrop on the Chemicals of Their Prey / National Geographic chemicals released by prey to control which directions to spread their sticky trapping nets myceliumY. Yang. Evolution of nematode-trapping cells of predatory fungi of the Orbiliaceae based on evidence from rRNA-encoding DNA and multiprotein sequences / PNAS.

But do not think badly, mushrooms are not bloodthirsty in themselves. They switch to predation only if the substrate they grow on is depleted. If there are enough nutrients, mushrooms live peacefully and worms do not touchWorm-Eating Fungi Eavesdrop on the Chemicals of Their Prey / National Geographic.

2. Mushrooms can be used to make ice cream

Have you ever had this happen - they took ice cream out of the refrigerator, bit off a little, and it resembles sand in consistency? This happens when the dessert thaws a little, and then freezes again. As a result, ice crystals form in it. And it's not very tasty.

But scientists from the universities of Edinburgh and Dundee foundNaturally-occurring protein has melting ice cream problem licked / New Atlas way to solve the problem. They found that the BslA protein produced by filamentous mold significantly slows down the melting process of ice cream and allows it to effectively maintain its consistency.

You just don’t need to add mold to the dessert, you have to act more subtle here.

The genes of filamentous fungi were combined with the genes of bacteria and cultures were obtained, producingL. Hobley. BslA is a self-assembling bacterial hydrophobin that coats the Bacillus subtilis biofilm / Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences BslA in large quantities. Ice cream made from it retains a pleasant texture even after repeated defrosting.

And the taste of this dessert can be given with a low-calorie sweetener. erythritolSweet, sweet straw: Scientists learn to produce sweetener from straw and fungi / Vienna University of Technology. It is also prepared with mold. And straw. The fungus decomposes the straw into sugar and cellulose: the first can be eaten, the second can be recycled. And the fruits of the vital activity of the mold are not only tasty, but also do not cause caries.

3. And building materials

Ecovative Design Company developed Industrial-Strength Fungus / TIME natural substitute for polystyrene foam from mycelium, that is, the roots of mushrooms. And this material is stronger than concrete.

It is made like this. We take agricultural waste - straw and corn husks. Moisten, add nutrients and cultures of specially selected fungi and leave in a cool, damp, dark place for several days. Then we turn on the heating, which kills the fungus, and cut the resulting mass into bricks.

The result is a fireproof and non-toxic material that is also mold resistant. Apparently, the mushrooms do not touch their own.

It also retains heat well - better than fiberglass. Moreover, this material is environmentally friendly. So, perhaps the day is not far off when you will live in a mushroom.

Incidentally, experimenters claimForm And Fungus / The New Yorkerthat, in addition to agricultural waste, fungi also recycle clothes dryer lint, jelly, lobster shells, and human hair. It smells terrible, but when aired out, it makes excellent material. So mushrooms will not only provide us with housing, but also cleanse the world of garbage.

In addition to banal bricks, furniture is also made from mycelium at Ecovative Design. For example, chairs.

4. Mushrooms can start a fire

From tinder mushrooms, people have long made a flammable material for lighting a fire. Tinder foundT. Cotter. Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation even among the things of the ancient man Ötzi, 5000 years old. Then lighters had not yet been invented - they got out as best they could.

Sparks were knocked out on a piece of mushroom with a flint flint, it flared up, and you could make a fire whenever you wanted, and not wait for the gods to send lightning.

5. And even make a hat out of them

In addition to lighting fires, tinder fungus is used to create various crafts and souvenirs, because after drying and processing it becomes hard. For example, in Germany from it doSubstitutes for Tinder Fungus / Primitive Ways smoking pipes.

And if processD. N. pegler. Useful fungi of the world: Amadou and Chaga / Mycologist mushroom with saltpeter and soda, on the contrary, it will be soft and smooth to the touch - just like artificial leather. It is allowed to make various accessories.

For example, the famous mushroom researcher Paul Stamets became famous for wearing a tinder hat.

So he not only protectsJoe Rogan Experience #1035 - Paul Stamets / YouTube head from the sun and rain, but also gives the mycelium of the fungus direct access to its brain to ensure a constant telepathic connection with its owners... Joke.

6. Mushrooms produce rocket fuel

There is such a substance - gyromitrin. It is produced by some types of mushrooms - for example, stitches. And they are deadly poisonous. If a person eats soup from such toadstools, gyromitrin in his body hydrolyzedD. R. Benjamin. Mushrooms: Poisons and Panaceas to monomethylhydrazine.

This substance destroys the central nervous system, liver and gastrointestinal tract. In addition, it is a strong carcinogen. However, for all its shortcomings, the substance is used as rocket fuel.

Monomethylhydrazine is used in the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, many Russian and Chinese rockets; it used to be used by American shuttles.

True, you can hardly squeeze enough juice out of the lines to refuel the shuttle, but there is an alternative, and also less toxic.

Washington State University researchers discoveredResearchers produce jet fuel compounds from fungus / ScienceDailythat with the help of some types of fungi it is possible to produce high-quality hydrocarbon biofuels from sawdust, wood chips, waste, oats and other cellulose. So maybe in the future we will drive, fly and swim on fuel from mushrooms and oatmeal.

7. Fungi control insects to reproduce

There are fungi that prefer to parasitize the bodies of other living beings. They literally eat their owners alive. And some carriers even like it.

For example, the parasitic fungus massospore livesG. R. Boyce. Psychoactive plant- and mushroom-associated alkaloids from two behavior modifying cicada pathogens / Fungal Ecology on the bodies of cicadas. The unfortunate insects literally decompose while he eats them. But they do not worry - after all, massospore introduces psilocybin and cathinone (an analogue of amphetamine) into their circulatory system.

Intoxicated by these substances, the cicadas stop eating and only try to multiply. Of course, nothing comes out of them, since the fungus eats their insides and genitals. But inadequate insects do not give up trying. As they court, they infect more and more healthy cicadas. As a result, the fungus successfully spreads until the unfortunate insect dies from damage and exhaustion.

Another interesting fungus that practices parasitism is cordyceps.

He infectsS. Mongkolsamrit. Life cycle, host range and temporal variation of Ophiocordyceps unilateralis/Hirsutella formicarum on Formicine ants / Journal of Invertebrate Pathology ants. Its mycelium penetrates the circulatory system (it does not touch the nervous system, which is interesting) and forces the insect to climb higher onto some branch. Firstly, this is how the fungus selects the best parameters of temperature and humidity. Secondly, from a height it is more convenient to infect healthy inhabitants of the anthill.

Cordyceps then grows a fruiting body on the ant's head and kills the insect. So it hangs, irrigating everything around with spores. Ants, however, are not stupid. Cemeteries littered with the corpses of fungus-stricken comrades, they are trying with all their might avoidM. b. Pontoppidan. Graveyards on the Move: The Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Dead Ophiocordyceps-Infected Ants / PLoS One.

In addition to cicadas and ants, fungi also parasitize other insects. And they do it even on spiders, turning the poor fellows into likenesses of figures from cotton buds - this is called muscardine disease. And sometimes they find prey biggerJ. F. Gonzalez Cabo. Mycotic pulmonary disease by Beauveria bassiana in a captive tortoise / Mycoses - for example, turtles - and their lungs are affected.

Scientists thinkA. M. Barbarin. A preliminary evaluation of the potential of Beauveria bassiana for bed bug control. Journal of Invertebrate Pathologythat these fungi can be used to kill mosquitoes and bedbugs. Think, fools! They will eat them and turn on us.

8. Mushrooms produce clouds

As you know, mushrooms use spores to reproduce their own kind. The hats on their legs are just fruiting bodies, reproductive organs. They grow spores carried by the wind. And this requires special indicators of temperature and humidity.

Some types of mushrooms are waiting for the onset of favorable weather. Others create suitable conditions on their own.

Researchers at the Institute of Chemistry. Max Planck in Germany discovered How Fungi May Create the Amazon's Clouds / Discover Magazine fun fact. In the Amazon rainforest, certain types of fungi release organic particles into the air, which travel up into the sky and into the clouds.

There, these microscopic compounds of carbon and potassium, due to chemical processes, attract and condenseAmazon Fungi Help Create Clouds & Rain / Live Science water. This leads to the formation of clouds and then rain. That is, tropical mushrooms literally form a suitable humid environment for themselves.

9. And create the wind

Previously, scientists believed that fungi's reproductive strategy was simple: throw out spores and rely on the wind.

But researchers at UCLA and the American Physical Society in Pittsburgh discoveredMushrooms "Make Wind" to Spread Spores / Scientific American curious fact. It turned out that mushrooms growing in areas where the wind is weak can literally create air currents on their own in order to spread their offspring more efficiently.

When breeding time comes, they eject their spores at high speed and then begin to evaporate water in large quantities. The steam causes slight air movements. So the cells are carried about 10 centimeters further than when completely calm.

It may seem like a small number to you, but for small toadstools, this is a serious achievement, you know.

Mycologists believeMushrooms "Make Wind" to Spread Spores / Scientific Americanthat this mechanism is to some extent involved in all fungi that form fruiting bodies.

10. Once upon a time there were huge forests of mushrooms on Earth

We used to think that mushrooms are small. And this is despite the fact that the largest organism currently living on the planet is honey agaric 8000 years old. It grows in the Malor Reserve in Oregon and consists of a giant multi-ton mycelium of 910 hectares.

But this honey agaric is just a trifle compared to the monsters that lived on Earth in the Silurian and Devonian periods.

Prototaxites, giant mushrooms up to 8.8 meters high and up to 1 meter thick, grewC. K. Boyce. Devonian landscape heterogeneity recorded by a giant fungus / Geology on our planet from 470 to 360 million years ago. For comparison: the tallest plant of that time, cooksonia, was no higher than 100 centimeters.

Imagine entire forests without a single tree. Mushrooms and mosses covered the then only supercontinent, Gondwana. The thick trunks of prototaxites were fruiting bodies, and what kind of mycelium was there from intertwined mycelium threads under the soil - it's scary to even imagine. However, she did not survive.

Some scientists supposeG. J. Retallack. Affinities and architecture of Devonian trunks of Prototaxites loganii / Mycologiathat prototaxites are not pure fungi, but lichens - symbiotic organisms from fungi and algae. So, perhaps, they were able not only to feed on the substrate through the mycelium, but also to photosynthesize.