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Ever seen mushroom that glow in the dark, just like luminescent light? Unless you roam around tropical climates, where you spend time at night in the jungle for some reason, probably not.
As you can see, they're beautiful. They're called bioluminescent fungi and in case you're wondering, they're shining for a purpose.
At least that's what researchers from Cell Press have found out as of late.
Upon investigating the species of bioluminescent fungi, at first experts thought that the process of releasing light was a constant event. However, later it turned out that the circadian clock has a huge influence on the light intervals of these mushrooms.
A circadian clock is the function that makes living beings like insects, fish, birds and even mammals match their biological cycles and behaviour patterns to daylight changes and seasonal transitions.
This made scientists think that the phenomenons were intertwined, and the fungi's light show was possibly made for an audience.
The best way to enlighten themselves (pun intended) was to recreate these extraordinary fungi and see who falls for the trick.
And you know who always gets attracted by light, right? Insects, bugs!
Not without purpose, though. When the little guys (usually flies, wasps and ants, as well as beetles)
come for a light snack (again, pun intended), they end up as carriers of these mushrooms' spores, their legacy.
Something known as a ..
The bugs help the fungi species colonize potential new territory. And by adding the factor of the correlation between their clocks and the bioluminance, the process becomes even more efficient.
It's precisely this interaction that really fascinates researchers, and lures them into investigating further. They will now be looking even more into the genes themselves, that the fungi possesses.
What's curious as well is that this type of mushrooms, that were particularly put under the microscope, called Neonothopanus gardneri also play a vital part in tropical forests' ecosystems.
They turn cellulose into a more organic form, which otherwise would seriously affect the carbon cycles of Earth, making the entire planet depend on such organisms.
It's nice to know that insects got another chance to make their impact in the well-being of nature, serving as loyal (even if gullible) servants.
At least that's what researchers from Cell Press have found out as of late.
Upon investigating the species of bioluminescent fungi, at first experts thought that the process of releasing light was a constant event. However, later it turned out that the circadian clock has a huge influence on the light intervals of these mushrooms.
A circadian clock is the function that makes living beings like insects, fish, birds and even mammals match their biological cycles and behaviour patterns to daylight changes and seasonal transitions.
This made scientists think that the phenomenons were intertwined, and the fungi's light show was possibly made for an audience.
The best way to enlighten themselves (pun intended) was to recreate these extraordinary fungi and see who falls for the trick.
And you know who always gets attracted by light, right? Insects, bugs!
Not without purpose, though. When the little guys (usually flies, wasps and ants, as well as beetles)
come for a light snack (again, pun intended), they end up as carriers of these mushrooms' spores, their legacy.
Something known as a ..
The bugs help the fungi species colonize potential new territory. And by adding the factor of the correlation between their clocks and the bioluminance, the process becomes even more efficient.
It's precisely this interaction that really fascinates researchers, and lures them into investigating further. They will now be looking even more into the genes themselves, that the fungi possesses.
What's curious as well is that this type of mushrooms, that were particularly put under the microscope, called Neonothopanus gardneri also play a vital part in tropical forests' ecosystems.
They turn cellulose into a more organic form, which otherwise would seriously affect the carbon cycles of Earth, making the entire planet depend on such organisms.
It's nice to know that insects got another chance to make their impact in the well-being of nature, serving as loyal (even if gullible) servants.
Also a sort of double agents, as they let us humans look closer into the essence of these glowing fungi, their reproduction cycles and methods as well.
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