Universal frame

Startup offers to use mycelium for growing organs

Yulia Krasilnikova, Hi-tech+

Ecovative promises to turn mycelium into a new platform for "molecular assembly". The branched threads of the mycelium will allow you to grow artificial meat and skin of any shape and texture. The technology has already been worked out, making packages of non-standard shape.

The American company Ecovative became famous for the production of packages from mycelium – a thin network of threads that act as a vegetative body in fungi. The startup combines a mushroom frame with biodegradable agricultural waste and "grows" ready-made packaging for goods. The texture and appearance of the material resembles foam, but it does not harm the environment.

However, Ecovative's business is not limited to packages alone. Now the company is launching a biofacturing platform that allows you to grow various types of materials and tissues using mycelium. The startup presented its project at the SynBioBeta Synthetic Biology conference in San Francisco.

The framework of the "roots" of the mushroom is used as a programmable basis. During the growth process, temperature, humidity and CO2 levels can be adjusted to change the shape, density and size of the finished product.

The startup on its website gives examples of five structures that can be grown on a mushroom frame. Among them are both hard blocks, similar in texture to chipboard, and soft materials, for example, leather and a cellular base for growing artificial meat.

According to Fast Company, the company is already negotiating with manufacturers of thermal insulation foam – they want to replace the material with a more environmentally friendly analogue based on mycelium, the excess and scraps of which can be turned into compost.

Cosmetics manufacturers are also interested in the technology. In April, Ecovative signed a contract with Bolt Threads startup, and in September they jointly released a bag made of artificial leather derived from mycelium, nutrients and corn cobs.

Ecovative founder Eben Bayer plans to adapt the technique to produce more complex cellular structures, including artificial meat: "Our platform allows you to grow material with a fibrous texture, like real meat when you cut it with a knife."

Another scenario for the use of mycelium is the creation of artificial organs.

Bayer cites as an example an experiment with spinach leaves, which was conducted by a team of scientists in 2017. Then all the cells were "removed" from the plant, leaving only those responsible for its veined shape. Then the scientists used a cellulose frame made of spinach to grow human heart cells. During the experiment, an improvised liquid was driven through the veins.

Mycelium could also serve as a framework in this case, but scientists would have more freedom. Unlike spinach, mycelium does not have a fixed structure – if desired, they can be given any shape and recreate the basis for any organ.

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