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Hierarchical Structure of the Program Used by Filamentous Fungi to Navigate in Confining Microenvironments

Summary

Fungi navigating through tight spaces like soil use sophisticated biological programs similar to computer algorithms. Researchers studied how three fungal species move through confined microfluidic channels, discovering they use a three-level system: individual threads sense passages and remember direction, groups of threads avoid each other and share resources, and entire fungal networks solve problems through local independent decisions. This hierarchical approach efficiently explores space while balancing energy use.

Background

Filamentous fungi inhabit diverse micro-confining environments such as soil, wood litter, and plant tissues. These organisms have evolved specialized biological programs for spatial navigation and space searching in geometrically restricted environments, distinct from their behavior in open spaces.

Objective

To identify and characterize the hierarchical biological algorithms and programs used by filamentous fungi for space navigation in confining microenvironments by analyzing three fungal species with different ecological niches using microfluidic structures.

Results

A hierarchical three-layered information processing system was identified: individual hypha level (sensing narrow passages, directional memory, branching), co-located hyphae level (negative autotropism, cytoplasm reallocation, anastomosis), and mycelium level (localized solutions without apparent global coordination). Species-specific variations in branching patterns, directional memory resilience, and sensing strategies were observed.

Conclusion

Filamentous fungi employ synergistic biological algorithms integrated into a hierarchical architecture balancing complexity with specialization. Understanding these space-searching programs could inform biomimetic applications and reverse-engineered artificial algorithms for optimization problems.
  • Published in:Biomimetics (Basel),
  • Study Type:Experimental Research,
  • Source: PMID: 40422117
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