On: Hacking the genome of fungi for smart foods of the...

[onthecanposting]

I am curious of there is potential for a structural application, like getting the fungi to produce chitin or cellulose. I could imagine providing a light lattice for a structure, spraying it with spores and a nutrient slurry, and then letting it grow and harden into a durable structure.

[a_bonobo → onthecanposting]

There are ways to get fungi to make fake leather: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8950489/

There are a few US startups in this space. MycoWorks, Mylo, MycoFutures etc. pp. Some do 'proper' bioengineering, some are more on the chemical side.