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Proof of the mushroom Armillaria gallica on a fall of wood.Image: James B. AndersonC is nicknamed the "gigantic mushroom", an exceptionally large fungal growth belonging to a single genetic individual. An updated badysis of this gigantic fungal beast shows that it is much larger and older than scientists originally thought. This unique genetic individual, called C1, belongs to a species of fungus called Armillaria gallica, also called honey fungus. When biologist James B. Anderson of the University of Toronto studied this great growth in 1992, he was stunned by its size. Anderson and his colleagues estimated that he was 1,500 years old, weighed 100,000 kilograms (110 tons), and covered about 15 hectares of forest floor in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The C1 specimen, which has clung to hundreds, if not thousands, of tree roots, has been declared as being one of the largest and oldest organisms on Earth. About 30 years later, and as the last scientific act before his retirement, Anderson decided to return to the Michigan forest to take more accurate measurements of C1 and see if his cells had changed over the decades. A. gallica growing as mushrooms at the bottom of the forest. Image: James B. AndersonWatching hundreds of samples taken from 2015 to 2017, Anderson had to revise his previous estimates. As he points out in his recent study, the gigantic mushroom would actually be over 2,500 years old and weigh about 400,000 kilograms, or 440 tons. The growth covers about 173 acres (70 hectares), which is about the same size as the total area of the Pentagon building. "I consider these estimates to be the lower limit," Anderson said in a statement. "The mushroom might actually be a lot older. However, we think we have circumscribed all its dimensions, which was not the case in 1992. "Like other mushrooms, A. gallica grow mushrooms on the forest floor, but this species also uses an underground network of mycelium – subterranean tendrils the oversized organism by searching for and clinging to food sources. The mushrooms, as you may remember from the 4th year of the science clbad, are not capable of photosynthesis. Instead, they must obtain food by growing on other living or dead organisms, such as decaying plant or animal matter. The tendrils of Armillaria mushrooms have an organ called rhizomorphs, and the rhizomorphs of A. Gallica can suck nutrients from living wood. And in fact, we know that this species infects living trees and then continues to feed on the decomposing matter. According to Anderson, A. gallica plays "an important role in the decomposition of wood and in root diseases". In addition to characterizing the size, weight and age of C1, Anderson also studied his cells, which were compared to a reference genome. Gallica. The badysis of more than 245 cell samples showed that the mutation rates of DNA in the C1 individual are exceptionally low. Some mutations have been observed, but they do not seem to influence the health of the fungus or its appearance. "What we think we are saying is that there must be a mechanism by which the fungus protects itself from mutations," Anderson said. This mechanism allows the fungus to locate mutations in areas where they do not cause much damage. In the article, Anderson and his colleagues speculate that this mechanism prevents deleterious mutations from occurring in parts of the rhizomorphs responsible for perpetuating ongoing growth and development of the body. According to the researchers, learning more about this process could lead to progress in cancer research. "It could be an interesting point of comparison," said Anderson. "The cancer is so unstable, it is mutating at a high rate and is subject to genomic changes, while that is." Gallica is a very persistent organism with few mutations. "The study is still subject to peer review, but is currently available at the Biorxiv pre-print server. Finally, the gigantic Michigan mushroom, although large, is not the largest creature in the world. This distinction applies to an individual growth of Armillaria ostoyae in eastern Oregon, which covers 2,485 hectares of the Malheur National Forest. It is estimated that this person is between 2400 and 8 650 years old. In addition, the most important organism could be the 13 million-pound clonal aspen forest in Utah, which unfortunately is dying.[biorxiv]The original article can be found by clicking here
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