the fastest flights in nature high-speed spore discharge mechanisms among fungi最快的航班在自然界中高速孢子真菌之间的放电机制.pdfVIP

The Fastest Flights in Nature: High-Speed Spore Discharge Mechanisms among Fungi 1 2 1 1,2 2 1 Levi Yafetto , Loran Carroll , Yunluan Cui , Diana J. Davis , Mark W. F. Fischer , Andrew C. Henterly , 1 1 1 1 Jordan D. Kessler , Hayley A. Kilroy , Jacob B. Shidler , Jessica L. Stolze-Rybczynski , Zachary 1 1 Sugawara , Nicholas P. Money * 1 Department of Botany, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, United States of America, 2 Department of Chemistry and Physical Science, College of Mount St. Joseph, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America Abstract Background: A variety of spore discharge processes have evolved among the fungi. Those with the longest ranges are powered by hydrostatic pressure and include ‘‘squirt guns’’ that are most common in the Ascomycota and Zygomycota. In these fungi, fluid-filled stalks that support single spores or spore-filled sporangia, or cells called asci that contain multiple spores, are pressurized by osmosis. Because spores are discharged at such high speeds, most of the information on launch processes from previous studies has been inferred from mathematical models and is subject to a number of errors. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this study, we have used ultra-high-speed video cameras running at maximum frame rates of 250,000 fps to analyze the entire launch process in four species of fungi that grow on the dung of herbivores. For the first time we have direct measurements of launch speeds and empirical estimates of acceleration in these fungi. Launch speeds ranged from 2 to 25