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Radiotrophic fungi are fungi that can perform the hypothetical biological process called radiosynthesis, which means using ionizing radiation as an energy source to drive metabolism. It has been claimed that radiotrophic fungi have been found in extreme environments such as in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant .
[2] [3] Such "melanized" fungi have also been discovered in nutrient-poor, high-altitude areas which are exposed to high levels of ultraviolet radiation. [ 4 ] Following the Ukrainian results, an American team at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York began experimenting with radiation exposure of melanin and ...
Cladosporium sphaerospermum is a radiotrophic fungus [1] [2] belonging to the genus Cladosporium and was described in 1886 by Albert Julius Otto Penzig from the decaying leaves and branches of Citrus. [3] It is a dematiaceous (darkly-pigmented) fungus characterized by slow growth and largely asexual reproduction.
It was reported that some fungi had the ability of growing into, feeding, generating spores and decomposing pieces of graphite from destroyed reactor No. 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station, which is contaminated with high concentrations of cesium, plutonium and cobalt radionuclides. They were called radiotrophic fungi. [36]
Radiotrophic fungi is a perfect example of natural selection taking place after a chemical accident. Radiotrophic fungi appears to use the pigment melanin to convert gamma radiation into chemical energy for growth and were first discovered in 2007 as black molds growing inside and around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant .
Cryomyces antarcticus is a fungus of uncertain placement in the class Dothideomycetes, division Ascomycota.Found in Antarctica, it was described as new to science in 2005. [1]
Bioremediation refers to any process that uses microorganisms, fungi, plants, or the enzymes derived from them, to return an environment altered by contaminants to its natural condition. Large areas of soils, sediments, and groundwater are contaminated with radionuclides , heavy metals , and toxic solvents.
The English word fungus is directly adopted from the Latin fungus (mushroom), used in the writings of Horace and Pliny. [10] This in turn is derived from the Greek word sphongos (σφόγγος 'sponge'), which refers to the macroscopic structures and morphology of mushrooms and molds; [11] the root is also used in other languages, such as the German Schwamm ('sponge') and Schimmel ('mold').