Sunday, February 5, 2012

Bioluminescence and Sensibility (Glowing Flying Agaricus Jellyfish)

HI, I would like to jump off here, and launch into a new hypothesis based upon my own research into bioluminescense, mycology and species symbiosis. The question is somewhat posed, and an answer already hinted at: that the glowing shrooms do so to possibly attract critters that like to eat insects, insects that would otherwise eat them; such as flies, beetles, ants etc. Here's the full quote:

"Yet the reason why mushrooms glow has not come to light. One hypothesis is this attracts insects and aids spore dispersal. However, in jack o’lanterns, the foxfire comes from the mycelium or root-like network that gathers food for the fungus.

"We have no idea yet why this happens," said Desjardin. "Maybe the mycelium is glowing to attract the enemy of these insects, and will eat them before they can eat the mycelium. But we don’t have any data to support this."

Desjardin has studied bioluminescent fungi from all over the world to determine why and how this happens, and whether it is the same chemical phenomenon occurring in each species."

The reason why mushrooms glow? well to communicate seems one sensible and very general reason. But, communicate what, and why. (the same chemical phenomena, Yes, I say Yes, the same, with a common, extra-terrestrial origin, maybe, who knows?)

Here I am, if you have eyes to see, generally sums up the glowing activity, for humans however, in 2012 ,the message from glowing mushrooms maybe interpreted to be more profound, more meaningful than simply saying 'Here I am', I think.

Maybe the mushrooms helps us remember the saying from Scotus Eriugena 'All things that are, are lights', also the title of a book by Robert Shea, co-author of Illuminatus Trilogy with Robert Anton Wilson.

Maybe the discovery of 'Luciferin' in Fungi from around the world, joining fungus with other glow in the dark' earth based life-forms like 'fireflies' 'jellyfish' 'anglerfish' 'Arctic Krill' 'squid' and many species of plankton and...here's the list from wiki:

Terrestrial organisms

Animals:
Fungi:

[edit] Fish

[edit] Marine invertebrates

[edit] Microorganisms




Above: FOXFIRE (FIREFOX?)


So, to be bold, maybe the mushrooms glow and the fish and insects glow as a way to show how a special chain of evolution can teach us a lot about species symbiosis.

Micro-organisms, land fungus, insects, fish, must have some evolutionary chronology, how did bioluminesence pass from species to species and in what order? I wonder. Maybe in the planets long past, bioluminescense was more wide spread, and stronger in its effect?


Maybe 'Luciferin' the active ingrediant in Bioluminescense that makes stuff 'glow' will be found to have extra-terrestrial origins, and add moe evidence to the theories of 'panspermia' and the idea that life on earth was seeded from somewhere else outside the current biosphere, and futhermore that most probably this seeding was done by way of 'spores' travelling on meteorites? who knows, what are some of the other alternatives? Adam and Eve? Darwin's natural selection and evolution based upon the survival of the fittest? there are many more, I just wish to suggest that the recurring, unanswered question of the origins of DNA based life on this planet have a pretty good answer, to my mind, in the 'panspermia' model created by Sir Francis Crick and modified by the likes of Terence Mckenna, Paul Stamets and others.

The glowing mushrooms and the other bioluminescent species want to tell us that 'light' is very important, maybe we can somehow learn how to change from A FOSSIL FUEL AND CARBON BASED WORLD ILLUMINATION SYSTEM TO A BIO-CHEMICAL SYSTEM BY UTILIZING THE POWER OF BIOLUMINESCENCE CUTTING THE GLOBAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION MASSIVELY.

Why, this stuff even looks like Krytonite to major energy companies or lighting businesses. Natural organic light, free and glowing all day and all night if you want it!

HERE'S THE FULL ARTICLE:

Love and peas, fly agaric 23

 

Bioluminescent Brazilian Mushroom Shines Like a Night Light


Epoch Times Staff
Created: July 6, 2011 Last Updated: July 6, 2011
Related articles: Science » Inspiring Discoveries
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Neonothopanus gardneri shines brightly enough to read a book by. (Cassius V. Stevani/IQ-USP, Brazil)
Neonothopanus gardneri shines brightly enough to read a book by. (Cassius V. Stevani/IQ-USP, Brazil)


A forgotten fungus found in 1840 has been reclassified and its glowing properties studied to understand how and why it shines brightly enough to read a book by.
In 1840, renowned English botanist George Gardner discovered the fungus over 170 years ago when he saw children playing with the glowing object, which they called “flor-de-coco.” Gardner sent a sample to England’s Kew Herbarium and it was classified as Agaricus gardneri.
The mushroom is bioluminescent, ie it produces a glowing light, like fireflies and some jellyfish. This phenomenon is also known as “foxfire” and is seen in some other fungi like jack o’lantern mushrooms.
However, what makes these fungi glow, and why, are questions that present-day researchers want to answer.

To find new specimens of the fungus, Dennis Desjardin at San Francisco State University and Cassius Stevani at the University of Sao Paulo went hunting in Brazilian forests. They had to "go out on new moon nights and stumble around in the forest, running into trees," said Desjardin in a press release.

Using digital cameras, the scientists took photos of potentially biolumiscent fungi to check the images for any glow invisible to the naked eye, and located new specimens of the forgotten mushroom.
After examining samples to determine the mushroom’s anatomy, physiology and genetics, they reclassified it as Neonothopanus gardneri.
The green glow of Neonothopanus gardneri found by researchers on new moon nights, stumbling around in the forest, running into trees in Brazil. (Cassius V. Stevani/IQ-USP, Brazil)
The green glow of Neonothopanus gardneri found by researchers on new moon nights, stumbling around in the forest, running into trees in Brazil. (Cassius V. Stevani/IQ-USP, Brazil)

The scientists have theorized that the mushroom bioluminesces like a firefly, using a mixture of luciferin and the enzyme luciferase to emit light via a reaction with oxygen and water. However, they have been unable to locate these compounds in the fungus.


"They glow 24 hours a day, as long as water and oxygen are available," said Desjardin. "But animals only produce this light in spurts. This tells us that the chemical that is acted upon by the enzyme in mushrooms has to be readily available and abundant."

Yet the reason why mushrooms glow has not come to light. One hypothesis is this attracts insects and aids spore dispersal. However, in jack o’lanterns, the foxfire comes from the mycelium or root-like network that gathers food for the fungus.

"We have no idea yet why this happens," said Desjardin. "Maybe the mycelium is glowing to attract the enemy of these insects, and will eat them before they can eat the mycelium. But we don’t have any data to support this."

Desjardin has studied bioluminescent fungi from all over the world to determine why and how this happens, and whether it is the same chemical phenomenon occurring in each species.

1 comment:

Steve Fly Agaric said...

Interesting notes on firefly 'flash light' pulses and beams:

...This value as well as the one of the
peak wavelength at 562 nanometres (Fig. 1) are remarkable constants
in all the 50 spectra recorded. The time-resolved spectrum
(Fig. 2) of the fl ashing fi refl y reveals that a fl ash, of duration about
a hundred milliseconds, is in fact composed of a number of
microsecond pulses, while that of the anesthetised fi refl y reveals
a train of tiny pulses. This result establishes conclusively that an
oscillatory chemical reaction, like Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction,
goes on in the fi refl y lantern, albeit in a much smaller time
scale. Also recorded with the fi refl y light are interference and
diff raction patterns, which suggest that the fi refl y has a tendency
to produce coherence light."--The light of the firefly luciola praeusta kiesenwetter
1874 (coleoptera : lampyridae : luciolinae)
A. Gohain Barua, Department of Physics, Gauhati University,
Gopinath Bordoloi Nagar, Guwahati, 781014, India.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bio.1211/pdf