4 ms·

Charge lots of money for what?

• cultofmetatron 3y ago
  one example I can think of fungus that is souped up to be able to liberate phosphate or <insert trace mineral> from the local rocks in the area at higher rates than whats around there.
  • cratermoon 3y ago
    Yeah, it would need to have some advantage over the ability of natural mycorrhizal fungi, and improving the uptake and exchange of phosphate and iron might be good, especially for soils where those ions are less mobile, like clays and very basic soils. Just given the realities of climate change, increasing arable land could be a huge bonus for some crops. That would be the good side. The negative side would be along the lines of predatory Monsanto/Bayer seed practices. See <https://www.reuters.com/article/us-monsanto-organic-lawsuit-idUSBRE9590ZD20130610/ https://www.reuters.com/article/us-monsanto-organic-lawsuit-...>
    • __MatrixMan__ 3y ago
      My limited understanding is that there's some kind of exchange happening within these mycelial networks. The plants trade hexose for phosphates and nitrates, more or less. One hack that might be worth trying is to see if we can can supply another energy source (non food grade sugars) so that the plant doesn't end up "paying" for phosphates and nitrates with nutrients that we'd rather keep for ourselves. Maybe that's as simple as adding compost, but it could be that some tampering is warranted to ensure that the plant gets a free ride and the fungus indeed quests after the nutrients we want it to (verses just taking our bribe and ignoring the plant, which it no longer needs as an energy source).