People have long been intrigued by the possibility of life beyond Earth and how it might endure in extraterrestrial environments. There is no confirmed evidence of extraterrestrial life, not even on the planetary neighbor Mars. However, an international project led by KAUST’s Alexandre Rosado demonstrates how a particular type of black fungus, known to tolerate highly acidic conditions on Earth, could survive and even thrive in Mars-like environments [1].
“With the current advancement of space missions to Mars, both orbital and robotic, we are closer than ever to answering whether there was, or is, biological activity on the Red Planet,” says Alef Santos, who worked on the project as a visiting Ph.D. student in Rosado’s lab, together with Junia Schultz and co-workers. “Understanding the limits of life in extreme environments on Earth is a crucial step toward interpreting biosignatures beyond our planet. Extremophilic microorganisms that survive and thrive in hostile environments offer valuable natural models for how extraterrestrial life might adapt.”
The team chooses to study the black fungus Rhinocladiella similis based on genomic analyses and previous experimental evidence suggesting that the fungus possesses a robust genetic toolkit capable of withstanding multiple environmental stressors. They are particularly interested in how R. similis might survive in perchlorate salt brines, which are hypothesized to exist intermittently on Mars, along with other environmental factors, including intense UV-C radiation.
Long before there were trees, the Earth was overrun by giant mushrooms. Fungi first showed up over a billion years ago as three-metre-tall fungus fingers that dominated the landscape, while plants have been around for a paltry 700 million years debuting as scruffy shrubs. A billion or so years on, the humble ‘shroom is an unlikely champion in the war against plastic waste thanks to the discovery of a plastic-eating mushroom.
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The Marvellous Plastic-Eating Mushroom
Scientists have discovered a newly identified marine fungus that can infect and kill toxic algae responsible for harmful blooms. The microscopic parasite, named Algophthora mediterranea, attacks algae such as Ostreopsis cf. ovata, which produces toxins that can irritate the lungs, skin, and eyes of people exposed during coastal blooms. Remarkably, the fungus can infect several different algae species and even survive on pollen, suggesting it is far more adaptable than most known marine parasites.
