Investigating the potential of white rot fungi to produce sustainable leather-like materials

The kingdom of fungi represents a highly diverse group of eukaryotic microorganisms
essential to natural ecosystems as well as human prosperity. Often portrayed as nature’s
recyclers, a subgroup of Basidiomycota filamentous fungi called white rot fungi have gained
significant attention for their application in sustainable biomaterials. Their robust mycelium
network can be used as a resource to generate practical alternatives to environmentally
problematic materials such as polystyrene packaging, synthetic insulation material, syntheticand
genuine leather.

This PhD thesis focuses on harnessing the potential of mycelium from white rot fungi as a new
leather-like material alternative, addressing the limited available knowledge in this area. The
research explores various scientific disciplines and methodologies, including diversity of white
rot species, cultivation techniques, substrate optimization, enzyme production, gene
expression analysis, genetic engineering tools, post-growth processing and material
characterization. Despite numerous variables in mycelium material production, this project
successfully expanded the scientific understanding and established a dedicated research
environment for an expanding research team.

Key achievements include the isolation of a performant Trametes versicolor strain used for
pure mycelium material production, the optimization of a liquid-state surface cultivation setup
for the generation of mycelium mats and the development of a novel layered composition
strategy to produce leather-like mycelium materials. The culmination of these efforts resulted
in the creation of a prototype mycelium handbag made entirely from a biobased and
sustainable material.

The conclusions of this PhD project open new avenues leading to potential valorisation and
industrial collaboration with regards to a novel class of biomaterials.