Modelling in the biological sciences provides a great tool for investigating and predicting outcomes based on a multiple of parameters.

From studying the fungal behaviour in details to the structural behaviour of the mycelium-based structures, we’ve been applying four different approaches to solve some of the problems and increase our understanding of the processes involved in the project.

The whole idea of basing structures on fungal mycelium relies on the growth and the optimization of the basic physical and mechanical properties of the fungus. We have therefore developed two different approaches to simulating the biomass growth; a detailed model following the location of hyphae and locations [LINK TO SECTION] and another one involving applying a system of partial differential equations (PDE) that models the biomass movement [LINK TO SECTION].

When you change the characteristics of the mycelium, the structural properties will most likely also be influenced. The study of this have therefore been carried out by both designing the building [LINK TO SECTION] and testing out whether the mycelium can withstand the pressure needed [LINK TO SECTION].

Under the lens

Filamentous fungi have a very characteristic growth pattern on solid medium, as they appear as a large network of interwoven filaments [link to figure of fungi network] [3]. If we can accurately predict how a fungus will grow over time, it will allow us to determine the optimal growth conditions to gain the best end product. Therefore, we have investigated how the fungal morphology changes over time at two level of details.

Microscopic view

One of our models focuses on the morphology at the hyphal level by simulating the movement of hyphal tips, branching rates, extension rates and the density levels during a growth period in two dimensions. All of the code scripts can be found on our GitHub repository.

The mycelium of a fungi consists of many interwoven hyphae, and the density depends on how many filaments there are in the location. In figure 1 below, it is possible to see microscopic pictures of fungal mycelium. Three different levels of zoom illustrate how the network looks, where it can be observed how they interlink and how a fungal filament can branch into more.