For the Biodesign Challenge (BDC), s
tudents from top universities around the world spend the semester envisioning how cells, microbes, and other living things can remake the products and processes of our made world. At Rutgers this past semester, students in Biodesign 50:080:129 proposed projects that focused on water, food systems, alternative uses of waste stream materials, energy, medicine, and other areas where biological design could make a dramatic difference. At the end of this semester, the students selected “FUNGI GUY: A Superhero for Our Times” as the winning BDC project from our university.
Fungi Guy, a Superhero for Our Times
“Fungi Guy, a Superhero for Our Times,” considers the properties of melanized white rot fungi. It proposes that these life forms could be metabolically enhanced in the presence of radiation and used to consume plastic debris while sequestering microplastics. To support this theory, the students found scientist mentors (Dr. Jennifer Oberle and Dr. Georgia Arbuckle) to help them design an experiment where they grew two forms of fungi that were exploring plastic in the presence of radiation. To the team’s complete surprise, Patrick McDermott, the head of REHS at Rutgers, also stepped in and provided the team with urinal acetate for the experiment. It turns out that he had worked on a fungi study at Chernobyl 30 years earlier, and was excited to see what the Rutgers group would find.
The Full Experiment
The team was shocked to find that one of the two types of melanized fungi, Splitgill Mushroom (Schizophyllum commune) showed a marked increase in hyphal growth and plastic exploration in the presence of urinal acetate. The results are so promising that Dr. Oberle is recommending a full study.
The BDC Team Proposal
The Biodesign Team Fungi Guy project also proposes that this life form could colonize radioactive superfund sites, where it could exploit the standing radiation to eat plastic while growing a melanized barrier. The project also proposes that individuals living near radioactive sites use the energy to grow giant Lego-style blocks from fungi and plastic in molds that could become protective ground barriers, containment walls, and radiation-free houses.
The Full Presentation
The full presentation is viewable here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1n76y1k2JIk52x4XmDnO5e9CwJqrrEHXivN-7LspULLc/edit?usp=sharing
The Rutgers Team
The amazing Rutgers Team is:
