In 2019, researchers at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency, discovered that a common soil fungus could do something no one expected: metabolize gold.
The fungus, a strain of Fusarium oxysporum, is usually known for decomposing organic matter. But in a study led by Dr. Tsing Bohu, scientists observed that it could dissolve gold particles in its environment and precipitate them onto its mycelial filaments, effectively coating itself in gold. “Gold is so chemically inactive that this type of interaction is unusual and surprising,” Bohu said in CSIRO’s statement.
This process—oxidizing and precipitating gold particles—doesn’t just involve passive contact. The fungus plays an active role in cycling gold from its environment, possibly contributing to how the metal moves through the Earth’s crust. This was the first time such a biological mechanism for gold cycling had been documented.
