Abstract:
In the development of fungal based materials for applications in construction through to biomedical materials and fashion, understanding how to regulate and direct growth is key for gaining control over the form of material generated. Here, we show how simple \'chemical food\' cues can be used to manipulate the growth of fungal networks by taking Aspergillus niger as an exemplar species. Chemotrophic responses towards a range of nitrogen and carbon containing biomolecules including amino acids, sugars and sugar alcohols were quantified in terms of chemotrophic index (CI) under a range of basal media compositions (low and high concentrations of N and C sources). Growth of filamentous networks was followed using fluorescence microscopy at single time points and during growth by an AI analytical approach to explore chemo sensing behaviour of the fungus when exposed to pairs (C-C, C-N, N-N) of biomolecules simultaneously. Data suggests that the directive growth of A. niger can be controlled towards simple biomolecules with CI values giving a good approximation for expected growth under a range of growth conditions. This is a first step towards identifying conditions for researcher-led directed growth of hyphae to make mycelial mats with tuneable morphological, physicochemical, and mechanical characteristics.
摘要:
在真菌基材料的开发中,应用于建筑,直到生物医学材料和时尚,了解如何调节和指导增长是获得对所产生材料形式的控制的关键。这里,我们展示了如何简单的“化学食品”线索可以用来操纵真菌网络的生长,将黑曲霉作为一个典型的物种。对一系列含氮和含碳生物分子(包括氨基酸)的化学营养反应,在一系列基础培养基组成(低浓度和高浓度的N和C源)下,根据化学营养指数(CI)对糖和糖醇进行了定量。使用荧光显微镜在单个时间点和生长过程中通过AI分析方法跟踪丝状网络的生长,以探索暴露于对时真菌的化学传感行为(C-C,C-N,同时生物分子的N-N)。数据表明,黑曲霉的定向生长可以控制为简单的生物分子,CI值可以很好地逼近一系列生长条件下的预期生长。这是确定研究人员主导的菌丝定向生长条件的第一步,以使菌丝垫具有可调节的形态,物理化学,和机械特性。