SPUN Field Update: Ondas fúngicas, hongos en suelos marcianos, + más

From Martian soils in Tunisia to trading in traveling waves, the last few months have had us looking for mycorrhizal fungi in new places. What can the salty soils of Tunisia teach us about underground fungi on a changing planet? What can we learn from the supply chains mycorrhizal fungi use to transport nutrients underground? Read on to find out.

Notas de campo

Túnez

The vivid red soils of Chott el Djerid, Tunisia mirror those of Mars — rich in iron, crusted with salt, and hostile to plant life. Yet, plants persist, thanks in part to mycorrhizal fungi. Understanding these fungi could help combat rising soil salinity, a growing threat to global agriculture. To explore this, we joined Ahlam Khallef, Imane Bahlouli, and Dr. Mahmoud Gargouri to study how these microbes aid plant survival in extreme conditions. Their resilience may hold the key to sustaining crops in Earth’s increasingly salty soils.

Traveling Wave

In February, SPUN, VU Amsterdam, Princeton University and AMOLF published groundbreaking research on plant-fungi supply chains — featured on the cover of Nature. Using a custom-built robot, the team was able to gather a century’s worth of microscopy data in just three years. Their findings reveal that fungi build intricate mycelial networks that explore space in waves. To sustain this growth, fungi regulate resource flows, sending phosphorus back to plant roots, adjusting speed and pathway size like a two-way traffic system. This discovery reshapes our understanding of mycorrhizal fungi as a circulatory system of the underground.

Read the Nature paper here and watch Merlin Sheldrake, Toby Kiers, and Tom Shimizu explain the findings here.

Restoring Colombian black oak

Last month, our Lead Field Research Scientist, Dr. Adriana Corrales, returned from her third trip to the cloud forest of Huila, Colombia. There, she and her colleagues are doing ongoing sampling for underground fungi in in black oak tree plots, uncovering how mycorrhizal fungi may play a crucial role in restoring this endangered species. By using liquid nitrogen to instantly freeze samples, Dr. Corrales can explore what fungi genes are turned on and off under different environmental conditions.

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Next stops: Upcoming expeditions

This month we have two teams heading out to map mycorrhizal biodiversity in the Americas.

One team is headed to the American Southwest, where they are sampling in desert ecosystems with towering saguaro and organ pipe cacti overhead to learn how mycorrhizal fungi help plants cope with extreme heat and drought.

The second team, with members of SPUN and our collaborators at Fungi Foundation, will be sampling in Manú National Park, Peru—one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. Located where the Amazon rainforest meets the Andes, it spans a dramatic range of elevations and is home to an incredible array of life.

Underground Explorer highlights

Aída Vasco Have you heard of the Amazon’s incredible underwater forests? During the wet season, the river submerges the trees and fish swim among the branches. A few months later, the forest dries out again. Little is known about the fungi living in this unique environment. Dr. Aída Vasco is studying the mycorrhizal fungal communities living in three different spots in the flooded forests of the Colombian Amazon. In a time of record-breaking droughts, her research will help conserve the hidden underground networks that keep the lungs of our planet alive.
‍Hannah Karuri The forests around Mount Kenya are rich in biodiversity. Who lives above ground is well documented, but we’re missing a profile of the species residing beneath the forest floor. Dr. Hannah Karuri is uncovering the fungal communities that call Mount Kenya their home. By comparing fungi in protected vs unprotected areas of the forest, she hopes to support conservation efforts.

SPUN en las noticias

New York Times - “How Fungi Move Among Us”

This stunning visual article breaks down the Nature paper “A travelling-wave strategy for plant–fungal trade” and showcases incredible images and videos made by Corentin Bisot, Loreto Oyarte Gálvez, Rachael Cargill, and Vasilis Kokkoris.

Bioneers Podcast - “The Universe Beneath Our Feet: Mapping the Mycelial Web of Life”

This is an episode of Nature’s Genius, a Bioneers podcast series exploring how the sentient symphony of life holds the solutions we need to balance human civilization with living systems. In the episode, Toby Kiers and Merlin Sheldrake guide listeners through the intricate wonders of the mycorrhizal fungal networks that make life on Earth possible.

Knowable Magazine - “Why scientists are enlisting fungi to save endangered plants”

From Colombia to Hawaii, SPUN scientists and Underground Explorers are using mycorrhizal fungi to help rescue plants on the brink of extinction. SPUN’s Adriana Corrales studies fungi’s role in restoring Colombian black oak, while Underground Explorer Nicole Hynson focuses on saving a rare Hawaiian gardenia.

Science Friday Newsletter - “‘Common Side Effects’ And The Race To Save Invisible Fungi”

This article puts SPUN in conversation with Adult Swim's new animated series "Common Side Effects," a mycology thriller about a rogue researcher discovering a mushroom with miraculous healing properties. This fictional world is juxtaposed with real-world efforts by scientists, including SPUN’s Adriana Corrales, to map and protect mycorrhizal fungi.

Stay on top of SPUN in the news by checking the press page on our website.

Trabajo de campo

¿Le interesa participar en la investigación sobre hongos? Muchos investigadores llevan a cabo actualmente proyectos en diversos campos de la micología ambiental. Consúltelos en nuestra Página de Asociados.

Si es usted un investigador en micorrizas interesado en convertirse en Asociado SPUN, puede rellenar este formulario para presentar su candidatura.

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