So, fungal spores are literally everywhere, and the requirements for fungus to thrive seem to be trivially low; give it a moderately humid environment and it’ll grow on a bare concrete wall ffs eating god only knows what; the dust from the air maybe?
Well, and the great outdoors is full of slightly damp places, many of them downright soggy most of the time - and absolutely rife with organic material to snack on.
Where’s the bottleneck? Why isn’t the world a choking fungal hellscape?
Spores are everywhere like you say and you only really see a tiny percentage of mycelium. Fungi kinda is everywhere already, but where it can grow well is much more limited.
Fungi can be remarkably picky about its growing conditions to thrive, otherwise, it’s growth will be remarkably slow. However, if you put a tablespoon of dirt under the microscope, there could be dozens of mycelial strands in it trying to survive. They can all survive, to a degree, but there are a couple of issues preventing dominance.
If it can find a place to settle in and grow, chances are that many other spores may be trying to take hold as well. Fungi is insanely competitive and is constantly fighting for space. Fast growing fungi is what we normally see take over food sources and it’s usually a type of trichoderma. Trichoderma will literally choke out other fungal growths simply due to its rapid development. If an existing colony is weakened for one reason or another and it gets a trich infection, it’s game over.
For commercial mycelium development, (button mushrooms, oysters, etc.) growing conditions are generally perfect and the substrate used is tailored specifically per species. (It’s mostly sanitized poo or specific types of wood.) Temperatures need to be adjusted for each growth phase as fungi can be very sensitive to that. Some strains of shiitake are rumored to require a physical shock to fruit. (Like, the substrate bag needs to be physically smacked hard. It’s an odd characteristic.)
To sum all of this up, it usually comes down to competition. Where there isn’t fungi, there is bacteria. Plants even have chemical defenses to both. Small critters and insects may eat all three of those things.
Next time you look at your garden, just remember you are looking at an actual battleground for millions of critters of all shapes and sizes.
TIL Mario smacking a brick until a mushroom pops out is based on reality.
And the mushroom making him bigger most certainly is not.
The mushroom just makes him think he’s bigger.
Well, one makes you bigger, one makes you small. Of course the one’s mom gives out don’t do anything at all.
Just go ask Alice if you don’t believe that. Preferably when she is at about 10ft tall.
No, no, that’s pills (unless they make you small; or your mother gave you them, in which case they don’t do anything at all).
Thank you for contributing to make the fediverse a more interesting place.
Sure thing. I like to share stuff since I do a lot of random stuff. I also like to learn new things so I try to make it a habit to appreciate any corrections people make to what I say. Live, learn and share!
I have read somewhere that shiitake, and many other mushrooms from Japan only fruit when shaken hard because it has developed in an earthquake prone country.
The other theory is that mycelium starts to develop in a tree that is about to die, and when the tree falls, that is the trigger for fruiting.
(I personally have no clue where these theories originated from and can’t speak to them.)
FYI, your Lemmy client did a triple post from Lemmy world and it exposed your alt on .ca.
I remember a House episode where people got fungal infection in California after a small earthquake/tremor.
Oysters are fungi? I thought they were shellfish
Dunno if you’re joking?
Oyster mushrooms are a type of edible mushroom.
Oysters are indeed shellfish.
Also,
Oyster cards are an RFID travel card in London.
And,
What kind of noise annoys a noisy oyster?
A noisy nose annoys a noisy oyster.also: The Oyster was an erotic magazine published in London in 1883
Dunno if you’re joking? (…) Oysters are indeed shellfish.
Hey, when barnacles are apparently friggin’ crustaceans, it’s sort of a fair question, I’d say.
Sea critters are weird.
Also, oyster crackers are delicious!
It’s true. They only care about themselves.
I have read somewhere that shiitake, and many other mushrooms from Japan only fruit when shaken hard because it has developed in an earthquake prone country.
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In addition to other reasons listed in replies, there’s a fair bit of bacteria that excrete antifungal compounds into their environment so that they can colonize it more effectively than the mold.
There are viruses that attack fungi, too.
Any environment that hasn’t been sterilized by some means is a constant microbial warzone between bacteria, fungi, algae, archea, viruses, etc. with the current winners being determined by how favorable the conditions (moisture, pH, toxin concentration, etc.) are to each species.
Springtails and certain mites also love to eat fungus. I use them to keep mold under control in my terrariums
Mold needs the proper conditions to grow.
Probably most important to your question is nutrients. Mold needs certain nutrients in order to grow, which is why it doesnt grow on everything. Some materials that have the nutrients mold needs include various foods, drywall, cotton, and some types of wood.
Mold also need decently specific moisture in its evironment (humidity of over 55%), a proper temperature range, shielding from UV rays that kill it, and if these conditions are met, mold can grow in about 24-48 hours.
Why don’t arse cheeks get moldy?
Because you wash them often enough that they don’t get moldy, hopefully.
Yes, you can actually have mold grow on your skin. But there are a lot of bacteria competing for food with the mold, as well as body oils and waste secretions, on top of the body’s immune system being pretty good at taking care of invasions.
Yes, you can actually have mold grow on your skin. But there are a lot of bacteria competing for food with the mold, as well as body oils and waste secretions, on top of the body’s immune system being pretty good at taking care of invasions.
There are quite a few different types of fungal skin infections (athlete’s foot, ringworm, fungal nails, an array of yeast infections), some can be pretty damn persistent!
You also constantly shed skin, so any mould that tries to get a hold would have a difficult time staying on.
Your body’s immune system may be pretty good, but fungal infections are some of the most difficult to fight. For example, if you get fungal meningitis, it’s a massive headache to deal with.
They definitely can
it is a fungal hell scape, Valley Fever https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccidioidomycosis
Ringworm, Yeast infections
if you have a weakened immune system. It’s a nightmare you have to take so many precautions.
Aaaand then there’s slime moulds. Some of which can run a maze…
It’s not a fungal hellscape because the rest of us live at the mercy of fungus.
TIL fungi domesticated everything else on earth.
I, for one, welcome our new mushroom overlords.
