Imagine a glow-in-the-dark designer desk, or wooden fence posts that guide you home with their eerie light. Scientists in Switzerland have developed a way to make glowing wood, with the help of a fungus.
Stumbling on a piece of glowing wood out in the forest sounds like a magical experience, but it is possible. Under specific conditions, certain species of mushroom will fluoresce as they consume wood, although it’s rare and hard to recreate.
Now, scientists at Empa have managed to induce those conditions to make glow in the dark wood. The most effective combo turned out to be ringless honey fungus (Desarmillaria tabescens) and balsa wood, which was able to fluoresce for up to 10 days in wavelengths of 560 nanometers – a classic green glow.
Getting the material to that stage takes time though. The researchers found that the fungus and wood need to be incubated together for three months in a very moist environment. During this time the balsa wood absorbs up to eight times its weight in water, and the glow begins only when it’s exposed to oxygen. At that point, the enzyme luciferase (also seen in fireflies) kickstarts a reaction that results in emission of a green glow.
On closer inspection, the team found that the fungus breaks down the lignin in the wood, the natural polymer that provides stiffness and compressive strength. However, this doesn’t reduce the wood’s overall stability, because the cellulose remains intact.
The researchers hope to improve the technique to boost the intensity and lifespan of the bioluminescent wood. The ultimate goal, they say in the paper, would be to provide energy-saving lighting in homes or public spaces. While here it would be embedded into “dead” wood, other research has investigated making living plants that glow for the same goals.
The research was published in the journal Advanced Science. The team describes the work in the video below – you might want to switch on the English subtitles though.
Source: Empa