Fungi do exhibit phototropism, particularly when orienting the production of fruitbody formation so that spores are disbursed above ground. In one particularly interesting case, the orientation of Pilobolus (the hat thrower) sporangia is toward light openings in grass fields so that they may launch their spores a large distance (up to 6 ft).
Mold grows everywhere in caves, regardless of distance from light. Histoplasma is one particularly nasty one that comes to mind (causes Histoplasmosa of the respiratory track). However, I have heard of no case where fungi "need" light to grow - I would not be surprised if the light is "used" (or at least triggers) in the synthesis of some compounds however. A case in point is the common button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) in our grocery stores. This mushroom is grown in the dark so that it remains white. When grown in the sun it develops dark pigments and then "becomes" either a cremini, if picked small, or the portabella, if allowed to fully mature. On Tue, Feb 23, 2010 at 11:11 AM, Ruhland, Christopher T < [email protected]> wrote: > If memory serves me correctly, I do believe phytochrome has been isolated > from several different types of fungi. A quick Google Scholar search > brings up such journal articles as "Seeing the rainbow: light sensing in > fungi" by Purschwitz et al. (2006) and "Photosensing Fungi: Phytochrome in > the Spotlight" by Idnurm and Heitman (2005). > > Phytochrome seems to mediate quite a few interesting responses in fungi. > > Best regards, > > Chris > > > Christopher T. Ruhland, Ph.D. > > Associate Professor of Biological Sciences > Department of Biology > TS 242 Trafton Sciences Center South > Minnesota State University > Mankato, MN 56001 > > phone: 507 389-1323 > fax: 507 389-2788 > email: [email protected] > webpage: > http://ruhland.pageout.net/page.dyn/student/course/instructor_info?course_id=109326 > > -----Original Message----- > From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto: > [email protected]] On Behalf Of Martin Meiss > Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 7:41 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Fungi and light > > Maybe somebody familiar with cave biology could tell us whether guano > deposits far from the mouths of caves are beset with fungus. > On a similar note, the fungi raised underground by leaf-cutter ants > don't seem to mind the darkness. But what about those luminescent fungi in > rotting wood? Do they need light so bad they make their own? ;-) > > Martin Meiss > > 2010/2/22 Joshua Villa <[email protected]> > > > As far as I know fungi, like basidiomycetes, show positive phototropism > > (growing toward the light source), but don't necessarily need sunlight in > > their lifecycle for growth. I've never grown basidiomycetes in strict > > darkness, which may confound typical fruitbody formation. > > > > Joshua Villa > > > > > > On Feb 22, 2010, at 1:21 PM, Wayne Tyson <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > QUESTION: Some fungi live without light. Others live in the presence of > >> light. Apart from lichenization, do any fungi require light? If so, what > >> function does light perform? Are there any fungi that are indifferent to > >> light? > >> > >> WT > >> > > > > -- Jordan Mayor Ecosystem Dynamics Research Lab Dept. of Biology, Univ. of Florida Gainesville, FL 32611 office: (352) 392-2159
