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It’s my understanding that fungi eat dead organic matter. So what did these fungi eat and was it included in the “Mars-like” environment?
by jimmytucson 3y ago
It’s my understanding that fungi eat dead organic matter. So what did these fungi eat and was it included in the “Mars-like” environment?
- gravelc 3y agoSome fungi require dead organic matter for survival - necrotrophs. Many dont (e.g. yeast)
- emporas 3y agoIt is saprophytic if i am not mistaken. Saprophytic means: it eats dead plants. Necrotroph means: it kills a plant, and then eats the dead plant. I have heard the term saprophytic many times, always related to fungi, but it's the first time i have heard the term necrotroph. My browser's spell correction underlines it with red like a word not spelled right. It is probably a new term.
- wongarsu 3y agoIn the context of these experiments the fungi don't really have to do anything in this Mars-like environment, except surviving. Many fungi can do that quite well by going in a dormant state. If you want to take these results to extrapolate whether there could be living and "thriving" fungi on Mars right now: there are radiotrophic fungi that can extract energy from ionizing (and possibly non-ionizing) radiation. There could also be fungi capable of chemosynthesis, the production of sugar and amino acids using oxidation reactions as a fuel source.
- joshuamcginnis 3y agoThe fungi used were lichenous and affixed to mars-like and moon-like substrata, not unlike the stone-like environments they were originally sourced from in Antarctica.