Fungi, a fundamental pillar for life on the planet, and possibly a tool to save it from pollution.

Fungi have contributed not only to create the conditions for animal life on earth, but also in many ways have made human civilization what it is today, perhaps with the new advances in biotechnology they are tools to correct one of the greatest mistakes of our species.

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When we talk about the wonders of nature we almost always think of majestic animals, and the beauty of the rivers in the mountains and how the trees give us food and oxygen, all working in perfect harmony to make the world teem with life, but behind the scenes fungi make all this possible, and perhaps, they can do much more.

Before we talk about the importance of fungi and how they can help save the planet, let's cover the basics.

What are fungi?

They are eukaryotic organisms that include organisms such as Yeast, Mold or Zetas, and are part of their own classification of living organisms apart from plants, animals and bacteria. They share characteristics of all but are not limited to a specific one. For example, they feed on organic matter like animals, but their cell structure and shape often resemble in many cases that of plants, but they can reproduce just like bacteria asexually if necessary.

It is estimated that there are between 2.2 and 3.8 million species of fungi, and that they inhabit all ecosystems of the planet, from deserts to the bottoms of the deep seas, fungi can be on land, fresh or salt water and in the air, even in our bodies. Fungi exist in such inhospitable places as the melted down reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant where there are high levels of radiation, in fact, these fungi in chernobyl feed on radiation to thrive through a process called Radiosynthesis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiosynthesis_(metabolism) there are also types of lichens that can withstand the cosmic radiation found in outer space, which has led several scientists to propose the use of such fungi as a source of food and radiation protection for astronauts on future interplanetary travel.

Fungi have been essential for the advancement of mankind since ancient times, processes such as the creation of bread, wine, beer, would be impossible without them, and the study of these was the precursor of areas of science such as biochemistry and the study of metabolism, the first antibiotic, Ampicillin, was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928 by studying the interaction of the fungus Penicillium Notatum with other bacteria, the fungus produced a chemical compound that prevented the growth of bacteria, Penicillin. Medicines for cholesterol control, heart disease, anesthetics, enzymes, vitamins, fungi have given us the tools to be the strong and healthy human beings we are today.

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Fungi maintain the balance of life on the planet.

Fungi decompose large parts of the organic matter that falls to the ground, producing in the process oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus and other chemicals essential for life, also the vast colonies of fungi in the soil bring water from the bottom of the earth to the surface where plants can access it, feeding on the sugars of plants fungi absorb carbon, thus contributing to clean the environment, studies show that an ecosystem with fungi removes 8 times more carbon from the atmosphere than one without fungi.

Underground there are vast ecosystems of fungi that distribute nutrients and serve as connection points for bacteria important for sustaining life, functioning as a kind of bridge for the passage of nutrients between different forms of life.

Currently an organization known as SPUN [Society for the Protection of Underground Networks] is collecting samples all over the world, from the Russian taiga to the Argentinean Patagonia to the deserts of Mexico and the jungles of Brazil to create a worldwide database of all these subway fungal networks to study and preserve. For there is a possibility, as has happened in the past, that humans could destroy one of these webs of life with chemicals without even realizing it. The database is called globalfungi and can be accessed here https://globalfungi.com/.

The cataloging of fungi is done by sequencing their DNA. This also opens a new door for the potential of fungi, since this study serves not only as a tool for cataloging and preservation, but also to help solve one of the great challenges of humanity.

Fungi to save the planet.

Mycoremediation is the use of fungi to clean the environment of pollutants such as hydrocarbons, residues of chemical processes or chemical compounds in beauty products that reach the environment, basically it is to take advantage of the ability of fungi to decompose a huge variety of chemical compounds so that they are removed from the ecosystem, In the process producing derivatives such as nitrogen or phosphorus which are beneficial for plant growth, even edible mushrooms can be produced that feed on pollutants because the fungi decompose them, that is, they cease to be what they were, and become non-toxic compounds.

There is a type of fungus to clean almost any type of contaminant, pesticides9 the white prodedumbre fungus is the one you need, pharmaceutical waste9 Mucor Hiemalis is the ideal tool to clean them from water, there are even fungi like Coprinus Comatus that can extract metals from the environment and store them in its body, working even with dangerous mercury, and also proved to be able to extract Gold in electronic waste, extracting up to 80% of the gold in them.

An excellent video explaining Mycoremediation and its capabilities in less than 4 minutes here.