Towards fungal sensing skin

Abstract

A fungal skin is a thin flexible sheet of a living homogeneous mycelium made by a filamentous fungus. The skin could be used in future living architectures of adaptive buildings and as a sensing living skin for soft self-growing/adaptive robots. In experimental laboratory studies we demonstrate that the fungal skin is capable for recognising mechanical and optical stimulation. The skin reacts differently to loading of a weight, removal of the weight, and switching illumination on and off. These are the first experimental evidences that fungal materials can be used not only as mechanical ‘skeletons’ in architecture and robotics but also as intelligent skins capable for recognition of external stimuli and sensorial fusion.

Full text

Adamatzkyetal. Fungal Biol Biotechnol (2021) 8:6
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40694-021-00113-8
RESEARCH
Towards fungal sensing skin
Andrew Adamatzky1*, Antoni Gandia2 and Alessandro Chiolerio1,3
Abstract
A fungal skin is a thin flexible sheet of a living homogeneous mycelium made by a filamentous fungus. The skin could
be used in future living architectures of adaptive buildings and as a sensing living skin for soft self-growing/adaptive
robots. In experimental laboratory studies we demonstrate that the fungal skin is capable for recognising mechanical
and optical stimulation. The skin reacts differently to loading of a weight, removal of the weight, and switching illumi-
nation on and off. These are the first experimental evidences that fungal materials can be used not only as mechani-
cal ‘skeletons’ in architecture and robotics but also as intelligent skins capable for recognition of external stimuli and
sensorial fusion.
Keywords: Fungi, Biomaterials, Sensing, Sensorial fusion, Soft robotics
© The Author(s) 2021. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing,
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Background
Flexible electronics, especially electronic skins [1–3] is
amongst the most rapidly growing and promising fields
of novel and emergent hardware. e electronic skins are
made of flexible materials where electronics capable of
tactile sensing [4–7] are embedded. e electronic skins
are capable of low level perception [8, 9] and could be
developed as autonomous adaptive devices [10]. Typi-
cal designs of electronic skins include thin-film transis-
tor and pressure sensors integrated in a plastic substrate
[11], micro-patterned polydimethylsiloxane with carbon
nanotube ultra-thin films [12, 13], a large-area film syn-
thesised by sulfurisation of a tungsten film [14], multilay-
ered graphene [15], platinum ribbons [3], Polyethylene
terephthalate (PET) based silver electrodes [16], digitally
printed hybrid electrodes for electromyographic record-
ing [17] or for piezoresistive pressure sensing [18], or
channels filled with conductive polymer [19].
Whilst the existing designs and implementations are
highly impactful, the prototypes of electronic skins lack
a capacity to self-repair and grow. Such properties are
useful, and could be necessary, when an electronic skin
is used in e.g. unconventional living architecture [20],
soft and self-growing robots [21–24] and development
of intelligent materials from fungi [25–28]. Based on our
previous experience with designing tactile, colour sensors
from slime mould Physarum polycephalum [29–31] and
our recent results on fungal electrical activity [32–34], as
well as following previously demonstrated thigmotropic
and phototropic response (Fig.1) in higher fungi [35], we
decided to propose a thin layer of homogeneous myce-
lium of the trimitic polypore species Ganoderma res-
inaceum as a live electronic skin and thus investigate its
potential to sense and respond to tactile and optical stim-
uli. We call the fungal substrate, used in present paper,
‘fungal skin’ due to its overall appearance and physical
feeling. In fact, several species of fungi have been pro-
posed as literal skin substitutes and tested in wound heal-
ing [36–41].
e paper is structured as follows. Patterns of electri-
cal activity of the fungal skin are analysed in “Results”
section. Results are considered in a wider context and
directions of future studies are outlined in “Discussion”
section. e protocol for growing the fungal skin and the
methods of electrical activity recording are described in
“Methods” section.
Open Access
Fungal Biology and
Biotechnology
*Correspondence: andrew.adamatzky@uwe.a.uk
1 Unconventional Computing Laboratory, UWE, Bristol, UK
Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
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Adamatzkyetal. Fungal Biol Biotechnol (2021) 8:6
Results
Endogenous electrical activity of the fungal material is
polymorphic. Low and high frequency oscillations pat-
terns can emerge intermittently. A train of four spikes
in Fig. 4c is an example of low frequency oscillations.
By measuring the electrical response with multiple elec-
trodes, positioned along coordinated axes like row and
columns of a matrix, and connecting them to a differ-
ential operational amplifier, it is possible to exclude sin-
gularities and enhance coordinated responses, which is
indicated as a filtering procedure to exclude endogenous
polymorphic activity.
Electrical responses to tactile loading and illumina-
tion are distinctive and can be easily recognized from
endogenous activity. An example of several rounds of
stimulation is shown in Fig.2a. e fungal skin responds
to loading of a weight with a high-amplitude wide spike
of electrical potential sometimes followed by a train of
high-frequency spikes. e skin also responds to removal
of the weight by a high-amplitude spike of electrical
potential.
An exemplar response to loading and removal of
weight is shown in Fig.2b. e parameters of the fungal
skin responses to the weight being placed on the skin are
the following. An average delay of the response (the time
from weight application to a peak of the high-amplitude
spike) is 911.4s (
σ
=
1280.1
, minimum 25s and maxi-
mum 3200s). An average amplitude of the response spike
(marked ‘s’ in the example Fig.2b) is 0.4mV (
σ
=
0.2
,
minimum 0.1 mV and maximum 0.8 mV). An aver-
age width of the response spike is 1261.8s (
σ
=
1420.3
,
minimum 199 s and maximum 4080 s), meaning that
the average energy consumed per current unit, associ-
ated to the response, is approximately 0.5 J/A. A train of
spikes (marked ‘r’ in the example Fig.2b), if any, follow-
ing the response spike usually has 4 or 5 spikes. e fun-
gal skin responds to removal of the weight (the response
is marked ‘p’ in the example Fig.2b) with a spike which
average amplitude is 0.4mV (
σ
=
0.2
, minimum 0.2mV
and maximum 0.85 mV). Amplitudes are less indica-
tive than frequencies because an amplitude depends on
the position of electrodes with regards to propagating
wave of excitation. An average width of the spike is 774s
(
σ
=
733.1
, minimum 100 s and maximum 2000 s. A
response of the fungal skin to removal of the weight was
not observed in circa 20% of differential electrode pairs.
e average response time is 385.5s (
σ
=
693.3 s
, mini-
mum 77s and maximum 1800s). By taking into account
inter-electrode distance it could be possible to weigh
temporal delays and further strengthen the rejection cir-
cuits based on operational amplifiers, as per above sug-
gestion to discard endogenous activity.
e response of the fungal skin to illumination is mani-
fested in the raising of the baseline potential, as illus-
trated in the exemplar recordings in Fig.2c. In contrast
to mechanical stimulation response the response-to-illu-
mination spike does not subside but the electrical poten-
tial stays raised until illumination is switched off. An
Fig. 1 Phototropism is one of the leading guiding factors in the
formation of basidiocarps in Ganoderma spp.
Fig. 2 Fungal skin response to mechanical and optical stimulation. a Exemplar recording of fungal skin electrical activity under tactile and optical
stimulation. Moments of applying and removing a weight are shown as ‘ W*’ and ‘Wo’ and switching light ON and OFF as ‘L*’ and ‘Lo’. b Exemplar
response to mechanical stimulation. Moments of applying and removing a weight are shown as ‘W*’ and ‘Wo’. High-amplitude response is labelled
‘s’. This response is followed by a train of spikes ‘r’. A response to the removal of the weight is labelled ‘p’. c Exemplar response of fungal skin to
illumination, recorded on three pairs of differential electrodes. ‘L*’ indicates illumination is applied, ‘Lo’ illumination is switched off
(See figure on next page.)
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Adamatzkyetal. Fungal Biol Biotechnol (2021) 8:6
a
W*
Wo
s
r
p
Potential, mV
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
Time
,
sec
1.2 1051.3 1051.4 105
b
L* Lo
Potential, mV
1
0
1
2
Time
,
sec
20,000 25,000 30,000
c
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Adamatzkyetal. Fungal Biol Biotechnol (2021) 8:6
average amplitude of the response is 0.61mV (
σ=0.27
,
minimum 0.2 mV and maximum 1 mV). e raise of
the potential starts immediately after the illumination
is switched on. e potential saturation time is 2960 s
in average (
σ=2201
, minimum 879 s and maximum
9530s); the potential relaxation time is 8700s in average
(
σ=4500
, minimum 962s and maximum 24790s).
In the case of illumination it is particularly easy to
imagine how effective a rejection stage could be, since all
the responses are well synchronized (Fig.2c).
Discussion
We demonstrated that a thin sheet of homogeneous living
mycelium of Ganoderma resinaceum, which we named
‘fungal skin’, shows pronounced electrical responses to
mechanical and optical stimulation. Can we differenti-
ate between the fungal skin’s response to mechanical and
optical stimulation? Definitely, see Fig. 3a. e fungal
skin responds to mechanical stimulation with a 15min
spike of electrical potential, which diminishes even if the
applied pressure on the skin remains. e skin responds
to optical stimulation by raising its electrical potential
and keeping it raised till the light is switched off.
Can we differentiate the responses to loading and
removal of the weight? Yes. Whilst amplitudes of ‘load-
ing’ and ‘removal’ spikes are the same (0.4mV in aver-
age) the fungal skin average reaction time to removal
of the weight is 2.4 times shorter than the reaction to
loading of the weight (385s versus 911s). Also ‘loading’
spikes are 1.6 times wider than ‘removal’ spikes (1261s
versus 774s).
Fungal skin response to weight application is, in some
cases, esp. Fig.2b, similar to response of slime mould
to application of the light weight [30]. e following
events are observed (Fig.3b): oscillatory activity before
stimulation, immediate response to stimulation, pro-
longed response to stimulation as a train of high-ampli-
tude spikes, return to normal oscillatory activity. is
might indicate some universal principles of sensing and
information processing in fungi and slime moulds.
e sensing fungal skin proposed has a range of
advantages comparing to other living sensing materi-
als, e.g. slime mould sensors [29–31] electronic sen-
sors with living cell components [42], chemical sensors
using living taste, olfactory, and neural cells and tissues
[43] and tactile sensor from living cell culture [44]. e
advantages are low production costs, simple mainte-
nance and durability. e last but not least advantage
is scalability: a fungal skin patch can be as small as few
milimeters or it can be grown to several metres in size.
In future studies we will aim to answer the following
questions. Would it be possible to infer a weight of the
load applied to the fungal skin from patterns of its elec-
trical activity? Would the fungal skin indicate direc-
tionality of the load movement by its spiking activity?
Would it be possible to locate the position of the weight
within the fungal network? Would it be possible to map
a spectrum of the light applied to the skin onto patterns
of the skin’s electrical activity?
Methods
Potato dextrose agar (PDA), malt extract agar (MEA)
and malt extract (ME) were purchased from Sigma-
Aldrich (USA). e Ganoderma resinaceum culture
used in this experiment was obtained from a wild
basidiocarp found at the shores of Lago di Varese, Lom-
bardy (Italy) in 2018 and maintained in alternate PDA
Stimulus is
applied
Stimulus is
removed
t
t
V
V
Response to pressure/load
Response to illumination
5 mV
5000 sec
b
a
pp
li
e
d
re
m
o
v
ed
t
t
V
V
S
timulu
s
i
s
Stimulus is
applied
S
timulus is Stimulus is
removed
t
t
t
t
V
V
V
V
R
es
p
onse to
p
ressure/loadResponse to pressure/load
R
esponse to
ill
um
i
nat
i
on Response to illumination
a
5
m
V
5 mV
5
000
sec
5000 sec
Fig. 3 a A scheme of the fungal skin responses to mechanical load and optical stimulations. b Slime mould P. polycephalum response to application
of 0.01 g glass capillary tube. Redrawn from [30]
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Adamatzkyetal. Fungal Biol Biotechnol (2021) 8:6
a b
Potential, mV
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
Time, sec
35,000 40,000 45,000 50,000 55,000 60,000
c
c
ab
de
fgh
ijk
l
Potential, mV
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Time, sec
1.2 1051.4 1051.6 105
d
Fig. 4 Recording of electrical activity of fungal skin. a Close-up texture detail of a fungal skin. b A photograph of electrodes inserted into the
fungal skin. c Train of three low-frequency spikes, average width of spikes there is 1500 s, a distance between spike peaks is 3000 s and average
amplitude is 0.2 mV. d Example of several train of high-frequency spikes. Each train
Txy
=
(Axy ,Wxy ,Pxy )
is characterised by average amplitude of
spikes
Axy
mV, width of spikes
Wxy
sec and average distance between neighbouring spikes’ peaks
Pxy
sec:
Tab
=
(2.6, 245, 300)
,
Tcd
=
(1.7, 160, 220)
,
Tef
=
(1.6, 340, 340)
,
Tgh
=
(2.5, 240, 350)
,
Tij
=
(2.5, 220, 590)
,
Tkl
=
(2.6, 290, 440)
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Adamatzkyetal. Fungal Biol Biotechnol (2021) 8:6
and MEA slants at MOGU S.r.l. for the last 3 years at
4°C under the collection code 019-18.
e fungal skin was prepared as follows. G. resina-
ceum was grown on MEA plates and a healthy myce-
lium plug was inoculated into an Erlenmeyer flask
containing 200mL of 2% ME broth (MEB). e liquid
culture flask was then incubated in a rotary shaker at
200rpm and
28 ◦C
for 5 days. Subsequently, this liq-
uid culture was homogenised for 1 min at max. speed
in a sterile 1L Waring laboratory blender (USA) con-
taining 400 mL of fresh MEB, the resulting 600 mL
of living slurry were then poured into a 35 by 35 cm
static fermentation tray. e slurry was let to incubate
undisturbed for 15 days to allow the fungal hyphae
to inter-mesh and form a floating mat or skin of fun-
gal mycelium. Finally, a living fungal skin circa 1.5mm
thick was harvested (see texture of the skin in Fig.4a),
washed in sterile demineralised water, cut to the size
23cm by 11cm and placed onto a polyurethane base to
keep electrodes stable during the electrical characteri-
sation steps (Fig.4b).
e electrical activity of the skin was measured as fol-
lows. We used iridium-coated stainless steel sub-der-
mal needle electrodes (Spes Medica S.r.l., Italy), with
twisted cables. e pairs of electrode were inserted in
the fungal skin as shown (Fig. 4b): the first placed in
position
2×5 cm
from a vertex, the following placed at
1 cm distance each. In each pair we recorded a differ-
ence in electrical potential between the electrodes. We
used ADC-24 (Pico Technology, UK) high-resolution
data logger with a 24-bit Analog to Digital converter,
galvanic isolation and software-selectable sample rates.
We recorded electrical activity with a frequency of one
sample per second. We set the acquisition voltage range
to 156mV with an offset accuracy of
9µV
to maintain a
gain error of 0.1%. For mechanical stimulation with 30g
nylon cylinder placed at 3 cm from the long edge and
3 from the electrodes, and aligned with electrode num-
ber 5, contact area with the fungal skin was circa35mm
disc. For optical stimulation we used an aquarium light,
array of LEDs, 36 white LEDs and 12 blue LEDs, 18W,
illumination on the fungal skin was 0.3Lux.
Acknowledgements
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020
research and innovation programme FET OPEN “Challenging current thinking”
under Grant Agreement No. 858132.
Authors’ contributions
All authors contributed equally to the preparation of experiment, analysis
of data and writing of the paper. All authors read and approved the final
manuscript.
Funding
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020
research and innovation programme FET OPEN “Challenging current thinking”
under Grant Agreement No. 858132.
Availability of data and materials
The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from
the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Declarations
Ethics approval and consent to participate
Not applicable.
Consent for publication
Not applicable.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Author details
1 Unconventional Computing Laboratory, UWE, Bristol, UK. 2 Mogu S.r.l., Inarzo,
Italy. 3 Center for Sustainable Future Technologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnolo-
gia, Torino, Italy.
Received: 25 November 2020 Accepted: 10 March 2021
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