CANBERRA, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Researchers from Australia's peak scientific body have discovered a gold-coated fungus in goldfields in the nation's west.
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) on Friday revealed it had discovered the gilded strain of the filamentous Fusarium oxysporum in soil at Boddington, a goldfield 130 km south-east of Perth in Western Australia (WA).
The fungi attach gold to their strands by dissolving and precipitating particles from their surroundings. The finding could help in the discovery of gold, with the fungi only occurring in areas where the valuable metal is nearby.
According to the research team, the gold-coated fungi grew larger and spread faster than those that did not have any gold, prompting a suggestion that there is a biological advantage in interacting with gold.
"Fungi can oxidise tiny particles of gold and precipitate it on their strands - this cycling process may contribute to how gold and other elements are distributed around the Earth's surface," team leader Tsing Bohu said in a media release.
"Fungi are well-known for playing an essential role in the degradation and recycling of organic material, such as leaves and bark, as well as for the cycling of other metals, including aluminium, iron, manganese and calcium.
"But gold is so chemically inactive that this interaction is both unusual and surprising - it had to be seen to be believed."
CSIRO chief research scientist Dr Ravi Anand said the fungi could prove vital as the agency works to develop new low-impact tools to help find gold.
"The industry is actively using innovative exploration sampling techniques, such as gum leaves and termite mounds, which can store tiny traces of gold and can be linked to bigger deposits below the surface," he said.
"We want to understand if the fungi we studied, known as fusarium oxysporum - and their functional genes - can be used in combination with these exploration tools to help industry to target prospective areas in a way that's less impactful and more cost-effective than drilling."
