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Why isn't everything mouldy?

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?

mvirts ,

It’s not a fungal hellscape because the rest of us live at the mercy of fungus.

deadbeef79000 ,

TIL fungi domesticated everything else on earth.

I, for one, welcome our new mushroom overlords.

remotelove ,
@remotelove@lemmy.ca avatar

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 table 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.

arin ,

TIL Mario smacking a brick until a mushroom pops out is based on reality.

JackGreenEarth ,

And the mushroom making him bigger most certainly is not.

HobbitFoot ,

The mushroom just makes him think he’s bigger.

SkyNTP ,

Thank you for contributing to make the fediverse a more interesting place.

JackGreenEarth ,

Oysters are fungi? I thought they were shellfish

milicent_bystandr ,

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.

cypherpunks ,
@cypherpunks@lemmy.ml avatar

also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oyster was an erotic magazine published in London in 1883

AmidFuror ,

It's true. They only care about themselves.

lordnikon ,

it is a fungal hell scape, Valley Fever 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.

RightHandOfIkaros ,

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.

Deceptichum ,
@Deceptichum@quokk.au avatar

Why don’t arse cheeks get moldy?

RightHandOfIkaros ,

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.

ShareMySims ,

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!

Daxtron2 ,

They definitely can

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