Weapon and Technology: Bio Weapons : Fungus Biopolymers

May 24, 2010

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Fungi are primitive plants which do not utilize photosynthesis, are capable of

anaerobic growth, and draw nutrition from decaying vegetable matter. This last

feature allows fungi to use hydrolytic enzymes to break down biopolymers and

recycle nutrients through the ecosystem. Unlike other organisms, fungi use

exoenzymes to digest their food before ingesting it. Fungi do not have stomachs;

they live in their food. More than 70,000 species of fungi have been discovered,

and scientists estimate that perhaps around 1.5 million species of fungi exist.

In an environment that lacks adequate nutrients, most fungi form spores to

survive in the soil. The spore formation is operationally significant and allows

fungi to be stable, storable, and easily aerosolized.

Fungi are eukaryotic, non-vascular organisms. Typically, fungi are non-motile

organisms, but several exceptions, such as chytrids, have motile phases. Fungi

are characterized by a cell wall made of chitin rather than the cellulose, the

material that make up plant cell walls. Most fungi have a life cycle that

includes either sexual (meiotic) or asexual (mitotic) reproduction through the

dissemination of spores by wind. In asexual reproduction, the spores are formed

in the aerial mycelium, and in sexual reproduction, spores are the result of

fusion of two cells and their nuclei. The wheat rust fungus spores have been

discovered up to 4000 meters in the air and up to 900 miles away. On average,

fungi have small nuclei with little repetitive DNA, and during mitosis, fungi's

nuclear envelopes do not dissolve.

Types of Fungi

There are three categories of fungi based on how they acquire their food:

saprophytes, parasites, and mutualists. Saprophytes feed on non-living material

and recycle carbon, nitrogen, and mineral in the ecosystem. Parasites pillage

nutrients from other organisms, and mutualists coexist with their host in a

mutually beneficial relationship. Harmful fungi causes some mild infections in

humans such as ringworm and athlete's foot, but also some serious diseases such

as trichothecene mycotoxins derived from a common grain mold.

Roughly 100 species of fungi causes disease in humans. Superficial mycoses are

fungal infections through the skin, hair, or nails. Ringworm or tinea is an

example of superficial mycoses. Subcutaneous mycoses are infections that enter

through the skin or dermis, usually through a wound. These infections are

relatively rare and confined to tropical regions. One example of subcutaneous

mycoses is Sporotrichosis caused by Sporothrix schenckii. Systemic mycoses are

infections that enter through the lungs, gastrointestinal tract, or the blood

stream. They can be primary or opportunistic fungi infections. An example is the

inhalation of Histoplasma capsulatum that causes histoplasmosis. Opportunistic

fungal infections such as aspergillosis, candidosis, and cryptococcosis attack a

weakened immune system. When inhaled, some fungal spores produce allergies, and

when ingested, some fungi produce hallucinogenic responses. Certain species of

mold produces secondary metabolites or mycotoxins that are toxic to humans. One

example is the fungus Claviceps purpurea that can be found on infected rye. The

fungus causes Ergotism when ingested, a disease that induces burning pains (also

known as St. 's Fire) and often madness. Fungal diseases may respond to

various antimicrobial.

In addition to infection, fungi such as mushrooms, truffles, and morels provide

nourishment. 90% of vascular plants cannot grow without a type of fungi called

mycorrhizae on their roots supplying them with nutrients. Antibiotics such as

penicillin and cephalosporin, and medicines such as cyclosporine are also fungi.

Yeast, another fungus, is a unicellular oval or spherical organism that

reproduces through budding, not binary fission. Yeast is responsible for the

fermentation process and for rising of dough to make bread.

History of Fungi

According to fossil records, the first fungi appeared in the Late Proterozoic

period dating between 900 and 570 million years ago. Fungi developed to thrive

in both terrestrial, fresh water, and marine environments. By the Pennsylvanian

Epoch 320 to 286 million years ago, all modern classes of fungi were established

on earth.

The first comprehensive description of fungi was written by Italian botanist

Pier Micheli in 1729. At first, botanists and taxonomists placed fungi

in the Plant Kingdom, but due to the unique characteristics of fungi, a new

kingdom- the Kingdom Fungi- was established in the late 1960s. Some organisms

once classified as fungi (slime molds, downy mildews, and water molds) were

moved to the Kingdom Protista. Some scientists suggested the creation of another

kingdom, the Kingdom Stramenopila, for these organisms.

Fungi as Biological Weapons Agents

Spores of mycotoxin-producing fungi are possible anti-personnel biological

weapons agents due to their stability, ease of manufacture, and ease of

dissemination in aerosol form. Several species of fungi are also effective

weapons against domesticated animals: rinderpest against cattle, Newcastle

Diseases and aspergillosis (brooder pneumonia) against poultry, and Foot and

Mouth against a variety of farm animals. Fungi such as rice blast, stem rust,

sugar beet curly top virus, and tobacco mosaic virus can also serve as

anti-crops agents. Genetically modified anti-crops fungi could also serve as an

environmentally friendly way for authorities to eradicate illegal crops such as

marijuana, poppy, and coca plants.

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