Electrical integrity and week-long oscillation in fungal mycelia

Author: mycolabadmin
7/6/2024
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Summary

Researchers discovered that fungal mycelia (underground networks of fungal threads) use electrical signals to communicate across their bodies when searching for food like wood. When a fungus found a piece of wood to eat, it generated electrical signals that spread throughout its mycelial network, possibly helping coordinate the fungus’s response. Most remarkably, the fungus exhibited a peculiar electrical rhythm at the food location that cycled every week—the longest such pattern ever observed in fungi.

Background

Cord-forming wood decay fungi exhibit complex behaviors suggesting intelligence and decision-making capabilities. Recent studies have shown that wood decay fungi display electrical signals and oscillations, which may play a role in signal transfer across mycelial networks. However, the mechanisms underlying these electrical phenomena and their role in fungal behavior remain largely unexplored.

Objective

To investigate electrical potential transfer and signal integration across the mycelium of Pholiota brunnescens during colonization of wood bait. The study aimed to demonstrate directional electrical signal transfer related to resource acquisition using causality analysis of time-series electrical potential data recorded from multiple points within a fungal colony.

Results

Colony growth coincided with increased electrical potential at electrodes, and causality analysis revealed significant directional electrical signal flow from the baited location to other parts of the mycelium during the first 60 days. After day 60, a distinctive week-long oscillation pattern emerged at the baited location, with an oscillation period of approximately seven days—the longest ever recorded in fungi. Causal relationships diminished when oscillations began, suggesting a shift in mycelial activity patterns.

Conclusion

The study demonstrates stable electrical signal transfer across fungal mycelia with directionality from resource locations, suggesting that colonizing hyphae act as temporary activity centers. The unprecedented week-long electrical oscillation represents a novel physiological phenomenon that may reflect fungal wood decay cycles. These findings indicate undiscovered mechanisms of whole-body electrical integration in fungal mycelia relevant to understanding their flexible and coordinated behavior.

Published in:Scientific Reports,
Study Type:Experimental Study,
Source: 10.1038/s41598-024-66223-6, PMID: 38971913