The Oregonian State Fungal Queen Is Revealed: Polychlorella Survives Without Sunlight! in 2000 Words
Fungi are fascinating and bizarre organisms that have been found surprising humans for centuries. However, few fungi surprise us anymore than the strange, brown, leafy-looking organism we call Oregonian Fungus, which is better known simply as Polychlorella.
Commonly found floating in water, Polychlorella is a photosynthetic fungus that uses its chloroplasts to fuel its life by absorbing sunlight and transforming it into energy. But how does Polychlorella survive without direct sunlight? Scientists now ponder how the plant survives on only a limited amount of chlorophyll, a pigment that is specifically designed to absorb light energy to convert it into chemical energy. What is the secret behind this mystery?
After years of research and experimentation with Polychlorella and other dark-pigmented but otherwise similar mosses, scientists have uncovered the answer. It turns out that Polychlorella contains photosynthetic pigments that allow it to absorb light energy through a unique mechanism that is different from those used by other plants. In this review article, we will explore the discovery and implications of this new understanding of Polychlorella’s survival strategy.
In 2006, a team of researchers at Stanford University noticed something strange about the cellular structures of Polychlorella, prompting them to run more tests. Milled curls of Polychlorella left the confines of macro lenses and exhibited an internal structure suited for absorbing light rather than trapping it. Their newly discovered chloroplasts weren’t composed of the typical green chlorophyll pigment found in most plants and algae; instead, they were filled with a pinkish red color with weak absorption peaks at 680 nm and 728 nm–features characteristic of cells growing under low-light conditions.
The team went further with their research to understand why their newfound cellular structures could survive on limited amounts of sunlight absorbed by molecular species they found within Polychlorella cells. To investigate this further, they analyzed various samples of Polychlorella cell walls using sophisticated appliance electron microscopy technology. The results were surprising: these cells retained a layer of an alternative aromatic hydrocarbon called chl5 derived chitin within the plasmodesmata structure’s inner lumina.
This discovery led theorists to speculate that it may be possible for microbial growth in dark habitats if they could sustain such acclimation mechanisms. Additionally, studies in oceanographers have suggested that microbial flora may rely on complementary mechanisms
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