====== Radiotrophic Fungi ====== Radiotrophic fungi were first discovered in 2000 as black moulds growing inside and around the damaged Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. Subsequent research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine showed that three melanin-containing fungi, //Cladosporium sphaerospermum//,// Wangiella dermatitidis//, and //Cryptococcus neoformans//, were able to increase biomass faster in an environment in which the radiation level was //500 times higher than in the normal environment.// It's thought that the fungi might have a biochemical mechanism which is able to use gamma radiation (i.e. high energy photons) to synthesise organic compounds or other metabolites. The mechanism is unknown. Research also suggests that some fungi are actually //attracted// towards ionizing radiation sources (hence the name 'radiotrophic'). Example paper : [[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0953756208604281|Mycological Research, Volume 108, Issue 9, ]]pp.1089-1096{{:oa_padlock_red.png?16}}[ paywalled ] If it's confirmed that the fungi are actually //using// the radiation - rather than //tolerating// it - there could be profound implications for the evolution of life in hostile environments. More info : [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiotrophic_fungus|Wikipedia]] //Notes: // [1] A 2020 paper in [[https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.07.16.205534v2.abstract|BioXiv]] suggests that such fungi might be useful as a protective shield in spacecraft. [2] It's recently been discovered that some bacteria use radiation as their primary - indeed only - source of energy. To be more specific, they use the by-products of mineral breakdown brought about by natural radiation deep underground - see [[content:earth_sciences:deep_carbon]] Like the radiotrophic fungi, this has profound implications for theories about the evolution of life. ---- Also see : [[content:life_sciences:botany:cryptochrome]] and [[content:medicine:treatments:radiation_hormesis]] ~~stars>2/5~~