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A South African study has found that certain types of mushrooms are particularly adept at cleaning up polluted rivers and other bodies of water.
The context: Owing to mismanagement and corruption, many of South Africa’s river systems have become choked with poorly treated wastewater and other harmful forms of pollution. According to the 2022 Green Drop Report, of the 850 wastewater systems across 90 municipalities, just 23 (or less than 3%) are certified as “excellent”.
Many other parts of the world are grappling with similar challenges.
The latest: In an effort to mitigate South Africa’s wastewater crisis, Patricks Voua Otomo, associate professor in the Department of Zoology and Entomology at the University of the Free, has been researching the effectiveness of mycofiltration — the use of fungal mycelia to purify water.
His research has focused on South Africa’s rural Qwaqwa region, where rivers are contaminated by wastewater effluent and directly by households. The waterways contain large amounts pharmaceuticals such as biphenyl-4-ylacetic acid (an anti-inflammatory), efavirenz (an HIV medicine), and carbamazepine (an epilepsy medicine), among other things.
“Various species of fungi have been explored in bioremediation studies, and those belonging to the Pleurotus genus (edible mushrooms) have demonstrated an exceptional ability in the biosorption of contaminants,” Voua Otomo says.
His team designed a mycofilter made of mycelia from the mushroom species Pleurotus ostreatus (Oyster mushroom) and filtrated water contaminated with the organic insecticide imidacloprid and the inorganic chemical iron (III). The results showed that mycofiltration could remove up to 94% of iron (III) and 31% of imidacloprid.
“Mycofiltration works through a process called adsorption, which is the process where molecules, ions, or particles from a gas, liquid, or dissolved solid, stick to a surface. This happens when the adsorbate (the substance being adsorbed) attaches to the adsorbent (the surface it adheres to),” Voua Otomo explains.
Mycofiltration is a “viable and affordable option for water remediation”, he says, adding that it’s suitable for a number of applications.
