FUngi, MUshroom & MOld

Individual project research (1)

The 3rd kingdom; fungi. The first multicellular organism on land about 700 million years ago. They allowed life on land possible due to their mutualistic relationship with green algae (algae were able to perform photosynthesis which allowed the fungus to absorb the sugars from it in exchange for water and minerals that algae were not able to access from the substrate.) Plants then started to expand and thrive on Earth, and eventually changed the composition of the atmosphere; allowing animals to evolve.

Fungi design a group of eukaryote organisms, including; mildews, yeasts, and molds. What we commonly call ‘mushroom’ is only the fruiting body of certain types of fungi (only 10% of fungi produce mushrooms.). Fungi are fascinating; some of them are bioluminescent (they glow in the dark), some lichens are extremophile (they live in Antartica) and others can even grow through asphalt.

Bioluminescent mushrooms — “Jill o’ Lanterns”, (photograph by T. Lockwood)

They’ve adopted complex strategies to complete their life cycle by propagating their spores, most of the time using wind. Some mushrooms though, uses quite some innovating methods to disperse their spores; some fungi — like truffles — developed strong odors and flavor, acting as an animal attractor — truffle scent functions as a sexual hormone on pigs — that will then unearth it, eat it, and release its spores further through its feces. Another surprising fungus has developed ‘manipulative behaviours.’ It infects insects and compels them to climb on a high branch; a mushroom will then sprout from their bodies and release new spores onto their next victims below.

Insect infected by Ophiocordyceps, the ‘zombie fungi’, (unknown photographer)

Fungi have shown clear forms of intelligence: labyrinth solving, complex communication, and surviving strategies. One of the remarkable examples of fungal intelligence is the experience of slime molds put on a petri dish modeled as Tokyo’s city. The obstacles like mountains were represented by lights (slime mold don’t like light), and oat flakes marked inhabitants’ strong density. These unicellular organisms were free to explore the petri dish, and it turned out that it adopted a path that is remarkably similar to Tokyo’s actual rail networks.

Greater Tokyo modeled on a petri dish with the slime mold’s path (in yellow)

Slime mold — Physarum polycephalum, (unknown photographer)

We often believe that intelligence is defined by the brain or the amount of knowledge one acquires, but what is intelligence? It all holds on to human subjectivity. In 1871, Darwin wrote: ‘Intelligence is based on how efficient a species becomes at doing the things they need to survive.’ From that perspective, fungi are intelligent organisms that, as we saw, evolved and adapted magnificently since the very early life on land.

Humans are ancestrally closer to fungi than they are to plants. Like us, fungi are heterotrophic organisms, signifying they need to feed off other organisms, unlike plants that are autotrophic organisms, which means they are auto-sufficient and absorb sunlight to create their energy. Contrarily to plants, fungi absorb oxygen and releases carbon dioxide, exactly like humans. Our neural structure is very similar to mycelium, yet not just anatomically but also in how it uses electric pulses and electrolytes. ‘At a molecular level, fungi and humans are similar enough to benefit from many of the same biochemical innovations’ (Sheldrake, 2020, p.9).

Fungi are broadly used in medicine since a very long time, from penicillin (pioneer of antibiotics) to cyclosporine (an immunosuppressant drug that allows organ transplants), fungi are a significant source of interest in the medical and psychological domain. A particularly interesting area of studies using psilocybin (psychoactive compound contained in a broad range of fungi) had for objective to relief terminal cancer patients from their anxieties. Each time, after the administration of psilocybin, the subjects reported having a more peaceful regard on their death and their mood had significantly improved. Psilocybin has also shown to be efficient for people with severe medicine-resistant depression and addictions, and could even be associated with the reduction of criminal tendencies. ‘These studies are considered to be some of the most effective psychiatric interventions in the history of modern medicine’ (Sheldrake, 2020).

Psilocybin, and more generally psychedelics, isan area of great interest for me; therefore, I will consecrate a future entry just for that particular topic.

Documenting myself about fungi opened my analytical spectrum. Their appearance and diversity fascinated me since a very long time, but I got ‘absorbed’ by the complexity of these organisms, the unsuspected effects it can have on our mind and body. Fungi became a recurring subject in my paintings notably.

Tammy P., (Fig. 1) Untitled, watercolours and ink on paper — 2020. (Fig. 2) Astral Infection, watercolours, water-soluble crayons and ink on paper — 2020.

Fungi have not finished to surprise us.

Recommended reading:

Merlin Sheldrake — Entangled Life: How Fungi Make our Worlds, Change our Minds and Shape our Future, 2020.

Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures - Merlin…

Paul Stamets — Fantastic Fungi, 2019.

Fantastic Fungi, the Book

Sources:

• Bonneville, S., Delpomdor, F., Préat, A., Chevalier, C., Araki, T., Kazemian, M., Steele, A., Schreiber, A., Wirth, R. and Benning, L.G. (2020). Molecular identification of fungi microfossils in a Neoproterozoic shale rock. Science Advances, [online] 6(4), p.eaax7599. Available at: https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/4/eaax7599
• Bradford, A., 2019. Penicillin: Discovery, Benefits and Resistance. [online] LiveScience. Available at: <https://www.livescience.com/65598-penicillin.html>
• Griffiths, R. and Grob, C., 2010. Hallucinogens as Medicine. 6th ed. [ebook] Scientific American, a division of Nature America, Inc., pp.76–79. Available at: <http://www.jstor.org/stable/26002307>
• Hata, S., Kobae, Y. and Banba, M., 2010. Interactions Between Plants and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi. International Review of Cell and Molecular Biology, [online] pp.1–48. Available at: <https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20460182/>
• Hendricks, P., Crawford, M., Cropsey, K., Copes, H., Sweat, N., Walsh, Z. and Pavela, G., 2017. The relationships of classic psychedelic use with criminal behavior in the United States adult population. Journal of Psychopharmacology — University of British Columbia, [online] 32(1), pp.37–48. Available at <https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171023101753.htm>
• Lenton, T., Dahl, T., Daines, S., Mills, B., Ozaki, K., Saltzman, M. and Porada, P., 2016. Earliest land plants created modern levels of atmospheric oxygen. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, [online] 113(35), pp.9704–9709. Available at: <https://www.jstor.org/stable/26471690?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=plants+earth%27s+early+atmosphere&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dplants%2Bearth%2527s%2Bearly%2Batmosphere&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3Aa834ff649de773e5d8067338b83cbc06&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents>
• Loron, C., François, C., Rainbird, R., Turner, E., Borensztajn, S. and Javaux, E., 2019. Early fungi from the Proterozoic era in Arctic Canada. Nature, [online] 570(7760), pp.232–235. Available at: <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1217-0.epdf?sharing_token=p8wgtC0plbm2DHLbudHaRNRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0Mhyji6JwpXgTOHFqzctCibhN0m2D6HZARtNkhmEGZUAswQkB16k0knhLKOtZK0OChJXvbwmKsLFyV_A_dj4X1oTkoMKuR0z6jdROnAB9jJCSaSkG-DyPdumEU0W6HDaTA6gTgirINHJVKBXFd5T11ud6QEIZmkF1TtcERPAxVytatHtUM6kebrBLBihzMqVNk%3D&tracking_referrer=www.nationalgeographic.com>
• Main, D., 2020. World’s oldest fungi, found in fossils, may rewrite Earth’s early history. [online] National Geographic. Available at: <https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/01/oldest-fungus-fossils-found-earth-history/>
• Malitz, S., Esecover, H., Wilkens, B. and Hoch, P., 1960. Some observations on psilocybin, a new hallucinogen, in volunteer subjects. Comprehensive Psychiatry, [online] 1(1), pp.8–17. Available at: <http://0-eds.a.ebscohost.com.emu.londonmet.ac.uk/eds/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=c60f3eb4-93a1-40ef-afe0-bea770da7b70%40sessionmgr4007&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=edsdoj.8d75d5520d2643f8a9a7fbaa38a9e2ac&db=edsdoj> [Accessed 19 February 2021].
• McGhee, G., 2013. ‘The Evolution of Life on Land’ When the Invasion of Land Failed: The Legacy of the Devonian Extinctions. [ebook] New York: Columbia University Press, pp.1–26. Available at: <https://0-www-jstor-org.emu.londonmet.ac.uk/stable/10.7312/mcgh16056.4?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=first+organism+on+land&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dfirst%2Borganism%2Bon%2Bland%26filter%3D&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_solr_cloud%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A4ca693a4c6552f39c014c183f0556413&seq=16#metadata_info_tab_contents>
• Selosse, M., Strullu-Derrien, C., Martin, F., Kamoun, S. and Kenrick, P., 2015. Plants, fungi and oomycetes: A 400-million year affair that shapes the biosphere. New Phytologist, [online] 206(2), pp.501–506. Available at: <https://www.jstor.org/stable/newphytologist.206.2.501>
• Sheldrake, M., 2020. Entangled Life: How Fungi Make our Worlds, Change our Minds & Shape our Futures. New York: Penguin Random House LLC.
• Stamets, P., Pollan, M., Weil, A., Griffiths, R., Harman, J., Simard, S., Sheppard, S., Sheldrake, M. and Furci, G., Ross, M., Money, N., Shavit, E., 2019. Fantastic fungi. Saint Rafael, California: Earth Aware Editions.
• Stamets, P., Naeger, N., Evans, J., Han, J., Hopkins, B., Lopez, D., Moershel, H., Nally, R., Sumerlin, D., Taylor, A., Carris, L. and Sheppard, W., 2018. Extracts of Polypore Mushroom Mycelia Reduce Viruses in Honey Bees. Nature Scientific Reports, [online] 8(1). Available at: <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-32194 8? ke=eyJrbF9lbWFpbCI6ICJhbm5zZ2luZ2VyaG91c2VAaG90bWFpbC5jb20iLCAia2xfY29tcGFueV9pZCI6ICJMeDRHUnAifQ%3D%3D#citeas>
• Tedesco, D. and Haragsim, L., 2012. Cyclosporine: A Review. Journal of Transplantation, [online] 2012, pp.1–7. Available at: <https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jtrans/2012/230386/>
• Valentovic, M., 2007. Lovastatin. xPharm: The Comprehensive Pharmacology Reference, [online] pp.1–5. Available at: <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780080552323620562>