A group of researchers led by fungal researcher Francis Schwarze from Empa’s Cellulose & Wood Materials lab in St. Gallen, Switzerland, is developing glowing trees using a parasite-like fungus that gets inside wood.
Research began by studying the ringless honey fungus, which infects trees and damages wood. This fungus often harms the trees, but some strains produce a substance called luciferin.
This liquid generates natural light, or bioluminescence as it is scientifically known. It causes whatever the liquid permeates to glow. In the case of trees, the substance’s contact with wood causes it to glow in neon green-like form.
Trees glow when fungal threads of this substance spread through their wood
When wood glows in the dark, it is described as a biohybrid by scientists, because it is a combination of living fungus and dead wood.
The potential of this mix is clear for researchers, given that it could allow the production of materials that naturally glow, like portable lanterns that can be used for camping or in other dark areas.
This is possible because researchers at Empa have replicated and successfully controlled the bioluminescent procedure in a lab for the first time, showing it can be used for practical applications.
researchers at @Empa_CH discover how to make wood glow in the dark using parasite-like fungus https://t.co/z6XrLDoNh8 pic.twitter.com/MBsJJLsk9b
— designboom (@designboom) December 10, 2024
Francis Shwarze and his team at Empa are conducting the research. He has examined the genetic code of mushrooms, allowing scientists to understand how they produce light. In the study, his team discovered that the ringless honey fungus contains a substance that makes it glow.
Indeed, this substance has become the main focus of their research, as Francis Schwarze and his team experimented with the substance and combined it with balsa wood for the test.
They used balsa wood to carry out these tests because it is light, making it ideal for experimenting with fungi. It allowed researchers to evaluate how the substance affects the wood’s structural components.
Researchers have learned that wood remains stiff even after it’s infected by fungi
Their results have shown that despite the fungus affecting balsa wood, the wood remains fairly strong at a microscopic level.
Scientists used X-rays to prove this discovery by showing the damage the infected wood sustained from the infection. Researchers found that the fungus damaged the wood at a cellular level, but did not compromise its structural integrity.
In addition, they discovered that the glow begins as soon as wood and fungi are exposed to air, triggering an enzyme reaction. Scientists have proven that trees can produce green light with a wavelength of 560 nanometres for 10 days straight.