It has been found that fungi have the ability to regulate their own temperature.

what is known

As often happens, the new discovery was made by chance. While testing a thermal imaging camera during the epidemic, a researcher noticed that mushrooms growing in a nearby forest looked cooler than the surrounding vegetation.

The scientist then recruited a team of molecular biologists from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland and a colleague from the University of Puerto Rico to take a closer look.

Thermal cameras were used to observe fungal species / Photo: Cordero PNAS

Unlike animals and plants, the temperature and thermoregulation of fungi is relatively unknown. Our data show that not only fungi, but also yeast and molds can maintain lower temperatures from the environment.
– researchers write in their paper.

Although isolated cases of fungal chilling have been reported, they have not been studied so extensively. Here the team analyzed them in the wild and in the lab to test the temperature difference.

Using laboratory experiments in which water content and temperature can be varied, the researchers fungi regulate their temperature by evaporation or releasing water into the air. A significant amount of water can be retained under the cork’s cap and then released slowly and evenly.

Also, other types of fungi can do the same, where colonies tend to be colder near the centre. This happens regardless of the outside temperature, even if it is close to zero.

We have shown that yeast and mold colonies are also cooler than their surroundings and use the evaporation process to give off heat. Relative coldness appears to be a general feature observed throughout the fungal kingdom.
– write researchers.

This type of thermoregulation is important not only for a better understanding of fungi, but also for modeling climate change. These organisms play a vital role in ecological cycles on Earth, accounting for about 2 percent of the planet’s biomass, and we need to know how they will adapt in the future and how they can help other plants and animals adapt.