Radiosynthesis
Radiosynthesis is the metabolism of ionizing radiation by living things. Similar to photosynthesis , which uses the energy of visible light, chemical energy is generated.
The process was first described theoretically in 1956 in a publication by the Soviet microbiologist Sergei Ivanovich Kuznetsov (1900–1987). After the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986, over 200 species of fungi were discovered there on the reactor wall and in the immediate vicinity. Most of these types of mushrooms contained melanin , a pigment that can absorb ionizing radiation . Further tests on one species showed that these grow more frequently as a function of irradiation, i.e. that they are radiotrophic fungi . The importance of melanin for the radiotrophic effect could also be shown. Evidence of radiosynthesis has yet to be provided.
literature
- Sergei Ivanovich Kuznetsov : On the question of the possibility of "radiosynthesis". In: Mikrobiologiya, 1956, pp. 195-199.
- Caroline Delbert: You should know about this Chernobyl fungus that eats radiation. In: Popular Mechanics, February 6, 2020.
Individual evidence
- ^ SI Kuznetsov: [Possibility of radiosynthesis]. In: Mikrobiologiia. Volume 25, Number 2, 1956 Mar-Apr, pp. 195-199, PMID 13321544 .
- ↑ NN Zhdanova, T. Tugay, J. Dighton, V. Zheltonozhsky, P. McDermott: Ionizing radiation attracts soil fungi. In: Mycological research. Volume 108, Pt 9 September 2004, pp. 1089-1096, doi : 10.1017 / s0953756204000966 , PMID 15506020 .
- ↑ E. Dadachova, RA Bryan, X. Huang, T. Moadel, AD Schweitzer, P. Aisen, JD Nosanchuk, A. Casadevall: Ionizing radiation changes the electronic properties of melanin and Enhances the growth of fungi melanized. In: PLOS ONE . Volume 2, number 5, May 2007, p. E457, doi : 10.1371 / journal.pone.0000457 , PMID 17520016 , PMC 1866175 (free full text).
- ^ Zapped By Radiation, Fungi Flourish . In: Science , May 23, 2007. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
- ↑ Shayla Love: What radiation-resistant space fungus can do for drug discovery. STAT, October 11, 2016.