A groundbreaking study has revealed that the Phanerochaete velutina fungus, which plays a crucial role in the decomposition of wood in temperate forests, may possess a form of primitive intelligence. This discovery challenges the conventional understanding of intelligence as something exclusive to animals and opens new avenues for exploring cognition in brainless organisms like fungi.
The research, led by microbial ecologist Yu Fukasawa from Tohoku University in Japan, found that the fungus can recognize and respond to different spatial arrangements of its surroundings. In a series of controlled experiments, Phanerochaete velutina demonstrated the ability to distinguish between different layouts of resources and adjust its behavior accordingly. This suggests that the fungus can “sense” its environment and make decisions that optimize its survival and growth.
“You’d be surprised at just how much fungi are capable of,” said Fukasawa. “They have memories, they learn, and they can make decisions. Quite frankly, the differences in how they solve problems compared to humans are mind-blowing.”
The research team tested the fungus by placing colonized blocks of wood in two distinct formations: one in a circle and the other in a cross. Instead of spreading out indiscriminately, the fungal mycelium grew strategically. In both layouts, the fungus spread outwards from a central point, creating connections between tendrils from neighboring blocks.
In the circular arrangement, the fungus left the inside of the circle empty, while in the cross-shaped arrangement, the mycelium formed dense connections at the tips and sent exploratory tendrils outward from those points.
This behavior suggests that the fungus not only recognized the layout but also communicated the configuration across its network of mycelia to optimize its foraging strategy. According to the researchers, this demonstrates a form of primitive cognition, as the fungus adapted its activity to best utilize available resources.
“If we define cognition as ‘the sensory and information-processing function of autonomous biological systems,’ the difference in network structure and wood decay function demonstrated by the fungal mycelia between the Circle and Cross arrangements might be a form of recognition by fungi,” the researchers explained in their paper.
These findings shed new light on how fungi may process information, even without a brain. The research could have far-reaching implications for various fields, including ecology, bio-based computing, and even the development of future technologies inspired by nature’s ability to solve problems.
The full study has been published in Fungal Ecology.
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