ABOVE: Fusarium oxysporum
WIKIMEDIA, KEITH WELLER, USDA-ARS
Fungi present in soil of the so-called Golden Triangle Gold Prospect zone of Australia can oxidize the metal, researchers reported May 23 in Nature Communications. The reaction dissolves gold, after which the fungi precipitate the metal on their surfaces, a process that may help move the metal from deeper deposits in the Earth’s crust closer to the surface.
The result represents a previously unknown role for fungi in biogeochemical cycling, Saskia Bindschedler, a microbiologist from the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland who was not involved in the work, tells the ABC. “What I really like about this paper is that it shows that not only bacteria are able to oxidise inactive metals,” she says.
“Fungi are well-known for playing an essential role in the degradation and recycling of organic material, such as leaves and bark, as well as for the cycling of other metals, ...
