By: Priscilla Carlo
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Corbis Images.
Dysprosium rare metal element that is mainly used for clean energy materials. |
Dysprosium (Dy) is a highly valued and rare industrial metal, mainly used in wind turbines, cell phones, and clean energy materials. A newly identified fungal species, Penidiella sp. T9, enjoys hoarding rare metals as it grows. This fungal species, which was isolated from an abandoned mine, also hoards praseodymium, neodymium, terbium, and europium. Scientists tested this by placing the isolate in medium that contained 53 mg/L Dy to 100 mg/L of Dy, after 3 days of cultivation at pH 2.5, there was a significant decrease in the concentration. By observing the microorganisms through an electron microscope, scientist found that the fungus was accumulating the metals in its cells' surface.
The most interesting fact about this fungus is that it doesn't actually utilize these metals for growth, and the purpose of hoarding them is still unknown!
Citation: Somera AF, Lima AM, dos Santos-Neto ÁJ, Lanças FM, Bacci M, Jr. 2015. Leaf-cutter ant fungus gardens are biphasic mixed microbial bioreactors that convert plant biomass to polyols with biotechnological applications.
Appl Environ Microbiol 81:4525–4535. doi:
10.1128/AEM.00046-15.
Very interesting. So there is a mining fungus among us! ;)
ReplyDeleteWhat was the concentration? 53 mg/L to 100 mg/L?