Meet the New Fun-Gi at Chernobyl

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Written By Morgan Rafferty ‘28

Edited By Allison Shea ‘28

On April 26, 1986, reactor no. 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded. Five years later, in 1991, scientists discovered a black substance growing across the damaged reactor. The spots would soon be identified as Cladosporium sphaerospermum, a species of radiotrophic fungi that can feed on Chernobyl’s nuclear contamination. In the time since this discovery, scientists have been trying to figure out how these fungi consume radiation and how the process can lead to greater innovation.

Radiotrophic fungi like C. sphaerospermum are able to synthesize energy directly from radiation. This discovery was made by Ekaterina Dadachova and Arturo Casadevall, two nuclear microbiology experts from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, who realized that the ionizing radiation emitted from the reactor was causing significantly enhanced growth of the fungi (2). The cells of these fungi contain high concentrations of the pigment melanin, which undergoes a change in structure under high levels of radiation. This structural difference enables its ability to transfer electrons – a hallmark of cellular energy production (3). This revelation means that melanin can function similarly to the common photosynthetic pigment, chlorophyll; however, instead of harnessing sunlight to make energy, it utilizes radioactive waves.

Further research into this newfound ability is happening aboard the International Space Station. Combating high radiation levels is one of the most difficult challenges in space exploration, but it's a challenge these fungi can potentially overcome. Early testing revealed an expected increase in fungal growth rates aboard the station, but more importantly, the culture with fungi led to a reduction in radiation compared to the negative control (4). This result shows that the consumption of radiation by these fungi can lead to a notable decrease in experienced radiation, making it a potential solution for the high radiation that still surrounds Chernobyl today.

This discovery has major ramifications for the nuclear energy industry as well. Nuclear energy is the safest form of energy that also releases the lowest amount of greenhouse gas emissions (5). The main drawback is that the spent nuclear fuel forms highly radioactive waste without any known methods for its decomposition. Thankfully, C.sphaerospermum poses a solution. Seeing as the fungi are able to accumulate radionuclides (the dangerous part of radioactive waste), they can potentially serve as a form of bioremediation (6). Researchers have shown that fungi are able to incorporate radionuclides into their structures, and in some cases, they redeposit them in more usable and less dangerous forms (6). While more research needs to be done into the bioremedial potentials of various radiotrophic fungi, as well as the biomolecular processes behind their functions, it is possible that fungi could be the answer to making nuclear energy cleaner.

Radiotrophic fungi form a large and diverse group of organisms, creating many different areas for their potential usage. Samples of another radiotrophic fungi, Aspergillus niger were included on the Artemis 1 mission in hopes of unlocking the key to engineering more radioactive-resistant space suits for astronauts (7). A second new type of fungi, Wangiella dermatitidis has the ability to sense radiation, creating potential for it to act as a signaling molecule in the presence of radiation (8). There’s also multiple hypothetical applications that have yet to be fully tested, although researchers agree they are a possibility. For one, the existence of radiotrophic life forms allows exobiologists to theorize about life on planets with high radiation levels – a niche for potential life that didn't exist before. There’s also their potential as a new source of clean energy. Research is currently being conducted into how artificial photosynthesis by standard fungi can create mass sources of energy, and one day more research may be developed in regards to radiotrophic fungi as the newest source of clean energy. With promising results and more research still to be done, the potential for new discovery in the field of radiotrophic fungi is large.

The sky's not the limit for radiotrophic fungi. For now, it’ll continue growing up the sides of Chernobyl reactor no. 4, and one day, it may even end up lining the walls of the next breakthrough spacecraft – soaring into its wide range of future potential.

References

1. Harvey I. thevintagenews. 2020 [cited 2025 Apr 6]. Fungus Found Growing at Chernobyl that Actually EATS Radiation | The Vintage News. Available from: https://www.thevintagenews.com/2020/02/11/chernobyl-fungus/

2. Dadachova E, Casadevall A. Ionizing Radiation: how fungi cope, adapt, and exploit with the help of melanin. Curr Opin Microbiol. 2008 Dec;11(6):525–31.

3. Malo ME, Schultzhaus Z, Frank C, Romsdahl J, Wang Z, Dadachova E. Transcriptomic and genomic changes associated with radioadaptation in Exophiala dermatitidis. Comput Struct Biotechnol J. 2021 Jan 1;19:196–205.

4. Averesch NJH, Shunk GK, Kern C. Cultivation of the Dematiaceous Fungus Cladosporium sphaerospermum Aboard the International Space Station and Effects of Ionizing Radiation. Front Microbiol. 2022;13:877625.

5. Ritchie H. What are the safest and cleanest sources of energy? Our World Data [Internet]. 2020 Feb 10 [cited 2025 Apr 6]; Available from: https://ourworldindata.org/safest-sources-of-energy

6. Dighton J, Tugay T, Zhdanova N. Fungi and ionizing radiation from radionuclides. FEMS Microbiol Lett. 2008 Apr 1;281(2):109–20.

7. United States Navy [Internet]. [cited 2025 Apr 6]. NRL fungal experiment launches as Artemis I payload. Available from: https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/3142068/nrl-fungal-experiment-launches-as-artemis-i-payload/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.navy.mil%2FPress-Office%2FNews-Stories%2FArticle%2F3142068%2Fnrl-fungal-experiment-launches-as-artemis-i-payload%2F

8. Malo ME, Frank C, Dadachova E. Radioadapted Wangiella dermatitidis senses radiation in its environment in a melanin-dependent fashion. Fungal Biol. 2020 May 1;124(5):368–75.