Mycofiltration
Encyclopedia
Mycofiltration is the process of using mushroom
mycelium
mats as biological filters. The term was coined by mycologist
Paul Stamets
.
Stamets originally came up with the technique to control E. coli in the water outflow from his property. After planting a mushroom bed in the gulch
where the water was leaving, within a year the coliform count had decreased to nearly undetectable levels. He discovered that the mushroom produced crystalline entities advancing in front of the growing mycelium, disintegrating when they encountered E. coli. As they did so, a chemical signal was sent back to the mycelium that, in turn, generated what appeared to be a customized macro-crystal which attracted the motile bacteria by the thousands, summarily stunning them. The advancing mycelium then consumed the E. coli, effectively eliminating them from the environment.
Another mushroom, Polyporus umbellata, has been demonstrated to inhibit Plasmodium falciparum
, a parasite that causes the most dangerous type of malaria
infection.
One industrial application of mycofiltration has been to prevent erosion
due to water runoff. Its primary application has been on abandoned logging
roads. The approach here has been to place bark and wood chips onto logging roads, and inoculate this wood debris with mycelia of native fungal species. As the wood chips decompose, the mycelial networks develop and they act as filters to prevent silt
-flow. In the process, they also renew topsoils, spurring the growth of native flora and fauna.
Mycoremediation
is a similar process, using mushrooms to remove contaminants from polluted environments.
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
mycelium
Mycelium
thumb|right|Fungal myceliaMycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus, consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. The mass of hyphae is sometimes called shiro, especially within the fairy ring fungi. Fungal colonies composed of mycelia are found in soil and on or within many other...
mats as biological filters. The term was coined by mycologist
Mycology
Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans as a source for tinder, medicinals , food and entheogens, as well as their dangers, such as poisoning or...
Paul Stamets
Paul Stamets
Paul E. Stamets is an American mycologist, author, and advocate of bioremediation and medicinal mushrooms.- Research and advocacy :...
.
Stamets originally came up with the technique to control E. coli in the water outflow from his property. After planting a mushroom bed in the gulch
Gulch
A gulch is a deep V-shaped valley formed by erosion. It may contain a small stream or dry creek bed and is usually larger in size than a gully. Occasionally, sudden intense rainfall may produce flash floods in the area of the gulch....
where the water was leaving, within a year the coliform count had decreased to nearly undetectable levels. He discovered that the mushroom produced crystalline entities advancing in front of the growing mycelium, disintegrating when they encountered E. coli. As they did so, a chemical signal was sent back to the mycelium that, in turn, generated what appeared to be a customized macro-crystal which attracted the motile bacteria by the thousands, summarily stunning them. The advancing mycelium then consumed the E. coli, effectively eliminating them from the environment.
Another mushroom, Polyporus umbellata, has been demonstrated to inhibit Plasmodium falciparum
Plasmodium falciparum
Plasmodium falciparum is a protozoan parasite, one of the species of Plasmodium that cause malaria in humans. It is transmitted by the female Anopheles mosquito. Malaria caused by this species is the most dangerous form of malaria, with the highest rates of complications and mortality...
, a parasite that causes the most dangerous type of malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
infection.
One industrial application of mycofiltration has been to prevent erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
due to water runoff. Its primary application has been on abandoned logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
roads. The approach here has been to place bark and wood chips onto logging roads, and inoculate this wood debris with mycelia of native fungal species. As the wood chips decompose, the mycelial networks develop and they act as filters to prevent silt
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
-flow. In the process, they also renew topsoils, spurring the growth of native flora and fauna.
Mycoremediation
Mycoremediation
Mycoremediation, a phrase coined by Paul Stamets, is a form of bioremediation, the process of using fungi to degrade or sequester contaminants in the environment. Stimulating microbial and enzyme activity, mycelium reduces toxins in-situ...
is a similar process, using mushrooms to remove contaminants from polluted environments.
External links
- The US Patent and Trademark Office Searchable website containing patents and applications related to mycofiltration