7 Responses to “Chernobyl Fungus Feeds On Radiation”

1. Bradford Says:
   March 20th, 2008 at 10:05 pm

   This from the related PLOS One paper:

   Exposure to ionizing radiation and other forms of electromagnetic radiation increases electron transfer properties of melanin

   To quantify the effects of ionizing radiation and other forms of electromagnetic radiation on the electron transfer properties of melanin "“ we irradiated dry C. neoformans melanin for 20 and 40 min with 14 Gy/min from a 137Cs source and measured its electron transfer properties in the coupled oxidation of NADH and reduction of ferricyanide. In this system, melanin acts as an electron-transfer agent [27], however, the effects of electromagnetic radiation on melanin electron-transfer properties are unknown. Irradiation of melanin for 20 min increased the velocity of the NADH/ferricyanide coupled reaction 3-fold in comparison to that measured for non-irradiated melanin, while 40 min irradiation had an even larger effect, causing a 4-fold increase in velocity (Table 1). When we investigated the influence of other, non-ionizing forms of radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum - heat (infrared radiation), visible light and UV light on the electron-transfer properties of melanin in NADH/ferricyanide coupled reaction "“ we found that each of these types of radiation increased the ability of melanin to transfer electrons (Table 2). Interestingly, the increase in the electron-transfer properties of melanin was independent of the energy of the incident photons- Ionizing Radiation Changes the Electronic Properties of Melanin and Enhances the Growth of Melanized Fungi; by Ekaterina Dadachova, Ruth A. Bryan, Xianchun Huang, Tiffany Moadel, Andrew D. Schweitzer, Philip Aisen, Joshua D. Nosanchuk, and Arturo Casadevall

Comment by Bradford — March 20, 2008 @ 10:05 pm

2. Joy Says:
   March 21st, 2008 at 8:09 pm

   Interesting item, Mike! But it's really not so surprising that a biomolecule other than chlorophyll (which isn't present in fungus anyway) may have the ability to turn EM energy 'packets' into food [chemical energy] for the plant. It's usually a parasite or symbiont. I doubt it would be gaining any nutrients directly from the concrete sarcophagus at Chernobyl, so of course researchers would be intrigued at its presence there.

   The radiation that comes through barriers made of concrete isn't unstable isotopes - it's "shine." EM in high-energy wavelengths (gamma as opposed to alpha or beta). The most intriguing thing about this particular research is that the molecule is melanin, not so much that it serves a similar function for the fungus as chlorophyll serves for green plants.

   More importantly, it opens intriguing possibilities related to the mysteries involved in knowing how gamma (UV-up) radiation exposures lead to cancer, macular degeneration, neurological and neuromuscular degeneration, and systemic lymphomas. Prediction is nigh impossible - that's why radiation issues are usually calculated against LD-50 (beyond that, who'd bother to calculate?).

   Life is nothing if not innovative and opportunistic. Where one form fails, another, more successful form will take its place. The fossil record establishes this beyond any doubt.

Comment by Joy — March 21, 2008 @ 8:09 pm

3. MikeGene Says:
   March 23rd, 2008 at 7:10 pm

   Hi Joy,

   Life is nothing if not innovative and opportunistic. Where one form fails, another, more successful form will take its place. The fossil record establishes this beyond any doubt.

   Indeed. And in this case, perhaps life was given a helping hand. Melanin is a very useful molecule in multiple contexts and originates from tyrosine, one of the 20 amino acids universal in life. Lucky for life that among the hundreds of possible amino acids out in Nature, this one was included.

Comment by MikeGene — March 23, 2008 @ 7:10 pm

4. Todd Berkebile Says:
   March 23rd, 2008 at 7:20 pm

   Lucky for life that among the hundreds of possible amino acids out in Nature, this one was included.

   Lucky? So of the hundreds of possible amino acids have you evaluated all of them to determine what percentage might be able to fulfill a similar role? Subjective reasoning like "lucky" can lead to faulty conclusions.

Comment by Todd Berkebile — March 23, 2008 @ 7:20 pm

5. MikeGene Says:
   March 23rd, 2008 at 7:38 pm

   Lucky? So of the hundreds of possible amino acids have you evaluated all of them to determine what percentage might be able to fulfill a similar role?

   Actually, it's not role, but roles. To answer your question, no. But this nicely illustrates yet another dimension to the positive research approach that can be spawned by a front-loading perspective. If the FLE perspective ever catches on, perhaps someone with chemical expertise could indeed conduct such an evaluation. Now that would be interesting.

Comment by MikeGene — March 23, 2008 @ 7:38 pm

6. Joy Says:
   March 23rd, 2008 at 7:48 pm

   So of the hundreds of possible amino acids have you evaluated all of them to determine what percentage might be able to fulfill a similar role? Subjective reasoning like "lucky" can lead to faulty conclusions.

   Actually, yes. There is a favoratism cue. It often leads to death and destruction. For instance, back in the day Los Alamos was known as the town with the greatest percentage of Ph.D.s per captita of any pace in America. They did a study (of course), determined that it was green chili peppers, grown in the surrounding arroyo valleys. That those fields were irrigated with water known to contain waste tritium didn't bother anybody. Until the cancer rate was noticed…

   No big deal. Tritium's just like regular hydrogen, at least in normal operation…

   Lots of aberrant AAs act just like normal ones in vivo. That's the problem…

Comment by Joy — March 23, 2008 @ 7:48 pm

7. Nathan Says:
   March 23rd, 2008 at 9:02 pm

   Todd:
   Lucky? So of the hundreds of possible amino acids have you evaluated all of them to determine what percentage might be able to fulfill a similar role? Subjective reasoning like "lucky" can lead to faulty conclusions.

   There is nothing subjective about this. Tyrosine has properties making it uniquely suited to absorb electromagnetic radiation- most particularly UV rays. This makes it and two other amino acids with similar properties well suited for melanin and other pigments.

Comment by Nathan — March 23, 2008 @ 9:02 pm

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.