Analysis of the emerging physical network in young mycelia

Abstract

Filamentous fungi develop intricate hyphal networks that support mycelial foraging and transport of resources. These networks have been analyzed recently using graph theory, enabling the development of models that seek to predict functional traits. However, attention has focused mainly on mature colonies. Here, we report the extraction and analysis of the graph corresponding to Trichoderma atroviride mycelia only a few hours after conidia germination. To extract the graph for a given mycelium, a mosaic conformed of multiple bright-field, optical microscopy images is digitally processed using freely available software. The resulting graphs are characterized in terms of number of nodes and edges, average edge length, total mycelium length, hyphal growth unit, maximum edge length and mycelium diameter, for colonies between 8 h and 14 h after conidium germination. Our results show that the emerging hyphal network grows first by hyphal elongation and branching, and then it transitions to a stage where hyphal-hyphal interactions become significant. As a tangled hyphal network develops with decreasing hyphal mean length, the mycelium maintains long (∼2 mm) hyphae—a behavior that suggests a combination of aggregated and dispersed architectures to support foraging. Lastly, analysis of early network development in Podospora anserina reveals striking similarity with T. atroviride, suggesting common mechanisms during initial colony formation in filamentous fungi.