Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 6, 2026
06:21
A Simple and Scalable Fabrication Method for Organic Electronic Devices on Textiles
Published on: March 13, 2017
A programmable fungal platform for engineered living textiles
Ke Li1, Bolin An1, Jicong Zhang1
1State Key Laboratory of Quantitative Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Materials Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.
Science Advances
|July 24, 2026
Summary
We developed a fungal living material from Cordyceps militaris mycelia that maintains cellular function for programmable applications. This sustainable material offers a scalable platform for engineered living materials (ELMs).
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Synthetic Biology
- Mycology
Background:
- Engineered living materials (ELMs) face challenges integrating structure, cell viability, and function.
- Current ELMs often struggle with scalability and maintaining biological activity within macroscopic structures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To create a fungal-based living material using Cordyceps militaris mycelia.
- To demonstrate the material's ability to maintain cellular viability and enable programmable functions.
- To establish a scalable and sustainable chassis for future ELMs.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of macroscale, cohesive films from Cordyceps militaris mycelia using a low-energy process.
- Preservation of metabolic activity within the mycelial matrix.
- Integration of engineered microbial partners (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Aspergillus niger) for specific functions.
- Assessment of environmental degradation.
Main Results:
- Developed cohesive, macroscale fungal films retaining metabolic activity.
- Demonstrated environmental responsiveness (nutrient-induced aerial hyphal growth for surface renewal).
- Successfully integrated engineered microbes for in situ patterning and UV shielding.
- Achieved near-complete degradation within 41 days.
Conclusions:
- Established a fungal-based living material chassis decoupling structural fabrication from genetic functionalization.
- Provided a modular, plug-and-play platform for synthetic biology applications.
- Bridged the gap between structural integrity and biological programmability in ELMs.
- Demonstrated a scalable and sustainable approach for functional engineered living materials.
