The potential of Schizophyllum commune for mycoremediation at the Chernobyl exclusion zone

The pollution of the environment with metals is an omnipresent and growing problem. One possible approach to make such contaminated soils usable is the in situ remediation using fungi. This process is called mycoremediation. In order to investigate whether S. commune might be used in mycoremediation in the future, a test field was set up near the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, which was damaged 35 years ago. To investigate the mechanism behind the metal tolerance of S. commune mRNA-Sequencing was done with subsequent gene expression analysis via qPCR with a Strontium adapted S. commune linage. These analyses revealed a connection between metal stress and inositol signaling and that the increased tolerance of the adapted linage is due to an avoidance mechanism. Furthermore, it could be shown that S. commune is able to transport Strontium and Cesium along its hyphae. Overall, it could also be confirmed that S. commune can be a potential candidate for mycoremediation, as it tolerates increased metal concentrations, radiation, and fluctuating environmental conditions over a long period, and it survives and even grows not only on wood but also in natural and contaminated soil.