Researchers at the University of California, Riverside collected fungi at seven wildfire burn sites across California over five years, sequenced their genomes, and exposed some isolates to charcoal to test their responses. The study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences explains how fungi that are barely detectable in soil before a blaze can rapidly expand afterward and use burned material as a resource.
Scientists identified multiple genetic and life-history strategies that enable post-fire success. Gene duplication increases copies of enzymes that digest char, as seen in Aspergillus. Sexual recombination in many Basidiomycota lets populations reshuffle genes and evolve metabolic abilities more quickly. One species, Coniochaeta hoffmannii, appears to have gained useful genes from bacteria in a rare cross-kingdom horizontal gene transfer, which can give fungi new tools to break down burn residues.
Physical strategies also matter: some fungi form sclerotia, heat-resistant resting structures that remain dormant underground for years, while others survive deeper in soil and then rapidly colonize nutrient-rich, competitor-free patches. For example, Pyronema produces small orange cup-shaped mushrooms where competitors are gone. Because charcoal is chemically similar to some industrial pollutants, these fungal genes may be harnessed to help clean oil spills, break down ores, or restore burned landscapes, a promising new area of applied research.
Difficult words
- genome — complete set of an organism's genetic materialgenomes
- isolate — individual sample of an organism collected separatelyisolates
- gene duplication — process creating extra copies of a gene
- sexual recombination — mixing of genes during sexual reproduction
- horizontal gene transfer — movement of genes between different organisms
- sclerotium — hard resting fungal structure that resists heatsclerotia
- dormant — temporarily inactive and not growing or moving
- charcoal — black burnt wood material produced by fire
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Discussion questions
- How could genes that help fungi break down charcoal be used to clean polluted sites or restore landscapes? Give examples from the article.
- What are possible benefits and risks of using fire-adapted fungi in landscape restoration or pollution cleanup?
- Before applying these fungi to clean oil spills or ores, what research or safety steps should scientists take?
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