Only 71 species of the 100,000 known species of mushrooms glow in the dark. Some of the bioluminescent species of mushrooms are parasites of coffee and pine trees. Jay Dunlap of Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and Cassius Stevani of Brazil’s Instituto de Química-Universidade de São Paulo have discovered some of the secrets of bioluminescent mushrooms.
Bioluminescence in mushrooms serves to attract insects. The incects inadvertently collect the sticky spores of the mushrooms and distribute the spores to other areas. The distribution of the spores helps prevent the mushrooms from overpopulating a given area and becoming extinct from the lack of food.
The researchers found that Neonothopanus gardneri, one of the biggest and brightest of bioluminescent mushrooms, glow on a schedule that is based on a temperature-regulated circadian clock. The adaptation saves the energy for the mushroom because the fungus does not have to expend energy making bioluminescent chemicals all day long. The same adaptation is assumed to be active in other mushrooms that glow in the dark.
The researchers proved the insect distribution aspects of mushroom bioluminescence by using a fake mushroom make from acrylic resin that was coated with a sticky adhesive. The glow in the fake mushroom was produced by LED lights. The researchers have not yet identified the genes that produce bioluminescence in mushrooms. Mushrooms are necessary for life on Earth as it is presently known. The mushroom is a major cellulose consumer.
