Experts say fungi are a vastly underused sustainability resource
Mycorrhizal Networks
The mushrooms popping up in your mulch and the fuzzy mold on your compost pile are part of a kingdom scientists say is barely studied compared to its potential to fix soil, break down waste, and build new materials.
A group of 20 fungal experts met in late 2025 to figure out why fungi, despite already giving us penicillin, mushroom foods, and mycelium-based materials, remain so poorly understood compared to plants and animals. They found the problem isn't a lack of exciting fungal science, it's a lack of funding, trained people, shared tools, and clear rules for turning fungal discoveries into real-world solutions. They're calling for coordinated investment and better governance to finally tap into fungi's potential for a more sustainable future.
Key Findings
A December 2025 workshop convened 20 leading mycology experts to identify bottlenecks across fungal research and innovation
Key barriers were grouped into three categories: functional mycology, human and institutional capacity, and governance
The group proposes four coordinated actions spanning research and development, governance, and advocacy to accelerate fungal sustainability innovations
chevron_right Technical Summary
A group of leading fungal scientists argue that mushrooms, molds, and their relatives could unlock huge advances in medicine, materials, and sustainability, but research is being held back by underfunding, scattered infrastructure, and weak coordination between scientists and policymakers.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Fungal frontiers for sustainability: unlocking the hidden kingdom
Fungi have repeatedly delivered transformative advances across industries, from medicine to food to materials, yet these breakthroughs have emerged from a narrow base of organisms and well-studied ...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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