Use light against fungi mushrooms

With light against mold

12/11/2013

Mold fungi destroy about a quarter of food crops each year worldwide. Dangerous for humans and other vertebrates are the mycotoxins of the mold, which can have a very harmful effect. For farms, the infestation of mold can be a problem if the crop failure can no longer be achieved through crop failure.

By chance, the biologist Markus Schmidt-Heydt from the Max Ruber Institute for Nutrition in Karlsruhe has discovered a way to combat mold in the future. Due to construction, the biologist had to move with his mold fungus cultures. At his new workplace, some mushrooms suddenly stopped growing due to the new, brighter environment. Instead of combating mold with heat as in the past, he now tried to prevent the fungi from growing by means of light. "For every fungus, there is one type of light that inhibits it," explains Schmidt-Heydt. Using colored filters, which are also used in theater and concert events for lighting effects, he found out that you need a different color for each fungus, so he dies. Cereals and maize infested with Fusaria can be protected with red light.

In case of fungal attack, dispose of food
„Molds are still one of the big unsolved agricultural problems“, explains Schmidt-Heydt. Due to the strong toxic effects foods should be disposed of in case of fungal infection, advises the biologist. Heating or boiling does not help. "The fungus dies off while, but the poison decays partially only at 300 degrees.". Together with his colleague, he has designed a light box in which he can irradiate different types of fungi with different types of light and frequencies. "With weak blue light you can inhibit the fungi in the toxin formation, with strong you can inhibit them in the growth and with very strong blue light you can kill them," the researcher discusses. But research is still at the very beginning of its possibilities. The professor of bioanalytics at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Ebrahim Razzazi-Fazel, also sees good possibilities in this approach to prevent mold infestation in the future. "

He says that preventing toxin production by light induction is a promising strategy. "Even if mold fungus formation is difficult to prevent, the destruction of toxins is a good starting point." Biologist Schmidt-Heydt, meanwhile, thinks of ways in which one can „light therapy“ can be implemented over a large area. "It would be possible to make molds in the Third World mold-proof with special stained-glass panes that provide the right light.“, that's his idea. (Fr)

Picture: M. Grossmann