The Language Of Fungi

Yes, you read that right: the mushrooms we love to eat, and the mold we don’t, has the capacity to communicate with others in their species. This is done not by talking, like with us humans, but my sending out electrical impulses that are then received by surrounding fungi. According to a recent study published in Royal Society Open Science, the specificity of the electrical signals produced by fungi indicate that the average fungal lexicon contains 50 different “words”. 

Electrical signals are not something unique to the cells of humans and fungi. In fact, all cells in all organisms produce some type of electrical signal that can be measured, even if those organisms do not have a nervous system. So what makes scientists so sure that the electrical signals fungi produce are used for communication? 

The scientists that published the original study in Royal Society Open Science explained that their findings were based on the observation of two different species of fungi, Pleurotus djamor (oyster fungi), and Ganoderma resinaceum (below are pictures of both species of fungi). When observing these fungi, the researchers noted that the pattern of electrical signaling in both types of fungi was comparable to that of the central nervous system.

Of course, in order to definitively say that fungi use these electrical signals for communication, the researchers have to be able to prove that these findings are not unique to just these two species. In order to do this, the researchers measured the electrical signals of four other species of fungi with electrolodes. The electrolodes were able to detect patterns in said electrical signals, and, by observing the length of the signal spikes, they were able to estimate the complexity of the fungal lexicon.

When I first read about this discovery, I had many questions. Many were answered when I delved deeper into the original article, but many still remain. How can we be more certain that this mechanism is used by all fungi? What are the purposes of this method of communication? Is it done by invertebrate species in other kingdoms as well? Hopefully the answers to these questions will be revealed as more research is done and new information is found.