Electrical Resistive Spiking of Fungi

Abstract

We study long-term electrical resistance dynamics in mycelium and fruit bodies of oyster fungi P. ostreatus. A nearly homogeneous sheet of mycelium on the surface of a growth substrate exhibits trains of resistance spikes. The average width of spikes is c. 23[Formula: see text]min and the average amplitude is c. 1[Formula: see text]k[Formula: see text]. The distance between neighboring spikes in a train of spikes is c. 30[Formula: see text]min. Typically, there are 4–6 spikes in a train of spikes. Two types of electrical resistance spikes trains are found in fruit bodies: low frequency and high amplitude (28[Formula: see text]min spike width, 1.6[Formula: see text]k[Formula: see text] amplitude, 57[Formula: see text]min distance between spikes) and high frequency and low amplitude (10[Formula: see text]min width, 0.6[Formula: see text]k[Formula: see text] amplitude, 44[Formula: see text]min distance between spikes). The findings could be applied in monitoring of physiological states of fungi and future development of living electronic devices and sensors.