Scientists Discover Why These Strange Mushrooms Glow Green

Did you know that there are mushrooms that glow? Scientists have long known that these intriguing fungi have the ability to emit light, but researchers have long wondered why. Now, scientists have found that the light attracts the attention of insects, including beetles, flies, wasps and ants, that spread fungal spores.

"It appears that fungi make light so they are noticed by insects who can help the fungus colonize new habitats," said Cassius Stevani, one of the researchers, in a news release.

There are many examples of organisms that generate light; for example, there's the lightning bug and the anglerfish. However, fungi are the rarest and least well understood of light-producing organisms; only 71 of more than 100,000 described fungal species produce green light in a biochemical process that requires oxygen and energy.

In this latest study, the researchers examined Neonothopanus gardneri, one of the biggest and brightest of bioluminescent mushrooms. This mushroom is also called "flor de coco," which means coconut flower, since it can be found attached to leaves at the base of young palm trees in coconut forests in Brazil.

The researchers created sticky, fake mushrooms out of acrylic resin and lit some from the inside with green LED lights. When these fake mushrooms were placed in the forest where the real mushrooms were found, the ones that were lit led many more staphilinid rove beetles as well as flies, wasps, ants and "true bugs" to get stuck than the sticky dark mushrooms.

The researchers also found that the glow is under the control of a temperature-compensated circadian clock. This level of control probably helps mushrooms save energy by turning on the light only when it's easy to see.

The findings are important for better understanding how mushrooms are dispersed in the environment.

The findings are published in the journal Current Biology.

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