In Australia, discovered mushrooms that feed on gold

The days of the gold rush in Australia are long gone, but the country still has significant reserves of precious metal and is one of the five leading gold mining countries on the planet. Not so long ago, in the vicinity of the largest Boddington mine in Western Australia, scientists discovered unusual organisms - fungi that consume gold as a result of their life. Researchers were extremely surprised by such a relationship, because gold is an inert metal and is not used by living organisms.

It turned out that mushrooms called Fusarium oxysporum TA_pink1 can do without gold, but at the same time lag behind in development from those specimens that have access to a metal solution. The experimental colony of mushrooms, which developed in a special gold-containing medium, managed to move to the stage of rapid growth already on the second day, while similar mushrooms lacking access to gold achieved the same result only on the 9th day.

It turned out that mushrooms with the help of hydrogen peroxide absorb gold from the solution and then accumulate in their tissues. Mushroom colonies thus enriched have a characteristic glow. But the biological meaning of this process remains a mystery to scientists. It turns out that this species adapted gold for its needs, but so far it is not in strict dependence on it and can do without a gold-containing solution.

Geologists have already suggested that such specific organisms, consuming and assimilating gold, can be very useful in the field of exploration. At the very least, the use of mushrooms in the early stages of metal exploration can contribute to the search process. It is possible that in the future there will be new technologies based on unusual mushrooms, including in the field of processing gold-containing waste.