Video: See fungal spores fly
In a remarkable display of cooperation, specialized fungi eject spores sitting atop their fruiting bodies at high speeds in rapid succession to generate a miniature wind current that carries their progeny 20 times farther than a single spore could travel on its own. Spore puffs from Sclerotinia sclerotiorumImage: M. RoperCombining mathematical theory with high speed video, a team led by applied mathematician linkurl:Marcus Roper;http://math.berkeley.edu/%7Emroper/www/Home.html of the University
Sep 27, 2010
Jef Akst
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Image: M. Roper |
Spores eject from the top of a fruiting body of the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, slowed down to one fifth of its natural speed, to show the structure of the jet of air created by the spores.
Video courtesy of Marcus Roper
Video courtesy of Marcus Roper
A high speed film showing the same species of fungus ejecting its spores. The left panel shows the spores illuminated with a ~1mm thick laser light sheet. The right panel displays the speed of the spores, computed using a technique called particle image velocimetry (PIV).
Video courtesy of Mahesh Bandi, Agnese Seminara and Marcus Roper
Video courtesy of Mahesh Bandi, Agnese Seminara and Marcus Roper
The ejection of spores from a related fungus, Ascobolus furfuraceus. The spores are black specks, which disappear when the spores are ejected.
Video courtesy of Marcus Roper
Video courtesy of Marcus Roper
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[22nd July 2010]