Researchers at the University of Warwick are co-ordinating a global effort to sequence the genome of one of the World's most important mushrooms - Agaricus bisporus. The secrets of its genetic make up could assist the creation of biofuels, support the effort to manage global carbon, and help remove heavy metals from contaminated soils.

That however is not the end of the mushrooms talents; several Agaricus species are able to hyper-accumulate toxic metals in soils at a higher level than many other fungi. Understanding how the mushroom does this improves prospects of using such fungi for the bioremediation of contaminated soils

Mushroom Secrets Could Combat Carbon, Enable Better Biofuels And Clean Soil