History museums are visited for their ancient exhibits crafted by men many years ago, but in this exceptional case, nature, in the form of a fungus, wants to exhibit itself too.

Stephen Mifsud, a resident mycologist and laboratory scientist with EcoGozo, explained that Fungi – or as many refer to them – mushrooms, are remarkable organisms for many biological aspects among which they are unrivalled by no other life-form for exploiting and growing on every imaginable (and non-imaginable!) habitat on Earth.

He explained that apart from forests, where most of us expect fungi to grow, they can grow in deep sediments of the sea, in frozen lakes in Antarctica, on the scorching surfaces of arid deserts, in sites with high concentrations of salt intolerable to most other living organisms, in toxic chemical cocktails of sewage or industrial sludge, free-living in air or inside other organisms, as already has been featured in a previous article of Gozo News. But very few would ever expect to find life inside volcanoes, on high radioactive areas in Chernobyl, or even surviving in space where species of fungi have been reported from such examples of extreme environments.

In Malta, or specifically in Gozo, a particular fungus that grows on deep layers of arid sand was recorded in the eighties and known as the Desert Inkcap or Faqqiegh tar-Ramel. This species of fungus named Montagnea candollei is locally a threatened species found at Ramla l-Hamra and recently discovered in similar arid places at Dwejra area. But when it comes to imaginable habitats, a newly discovered fungus beats the Desert Incap hands down

Mifsud said that at il-Hagar Museum, Victoria, steps away from the St. George’s Basilica, relics, historical items and many antique exhibits are encased in glass cases. But in one particular sealed case that portrays old stamps grows a filamentous, cobweb-like organism attached onto the interior surface of the sealed glass.

He said that this organism was researched in the mycological laboratory of the Xewkija Government Experimental Farm (funded by ecoGozo, Ministry for Gozo) where it was immediately determined to be a thermophilic microfungus.

It was cultured on selective agar-based media to isolate pure forms and make the examination more feasible. The fungus formed slow-growing velvety, chocolate-brown colonies.

Mifsud went on to say that these were further investigated under the microscope and finally identified to a species of the genus called Wallemia. It typically forms short chains of brown spores. This fungus is characterised to survive in arid conditions.

Its growth on the bare surface of glass depends on a very thin, imperceptible film of moisture condensation from the paper and stamps exhibited inside or other trace sources of water. Possibly some volatile organic matter (e.g. in the sticky surface of stamps) gives enough carbon to supply the fungus the energy to remain alive. It seems to grow in its sterile form due to a lack of nutrients.

In the capacity of Laboratory scientist, Stephen Mifsud (who carried out the research) said that this this microfungus is the first record for the Maltese Islands and opens an interesting topic about microfungi dwelling in Museums.

He added that it is a suitable research topic for further research at Degree level because some of these microfungi are known to deteriorate museum artefacts especially made of paper, cloth or parchment (please click here for further information).

Photos Stephen Mifsud: Wallemia and the Desert Incap

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