How the Fungus-Plant Growth Relationship in Supporting the Food Supply

Robert “Bo” Parfet, from Denver, Colorado, is not only the co-owner of impact investing firm Denali Venture Philanthropy, LLC, but he is also an avid mountaineer, naturalist, and author. Robert “Bo” Parfet has written extensively on impact investing. In September 2020, he wrote an article discussing how fungus grown in extreme environments promotes plant growth, which could ultimately support the food supply.

The project which made the connection between fungus that appears in extreme temperatures and plant growth was completed by Adventure Scientists, an organization that Mr. Parfet assists. A researcher with the organization had discovered that there was a way to help plants grow using a trick that helped microorganisms to survive in extreme temperatures.

This furthered more interest and culminated in a trip that found Adventure Scientists researchers taking plant samples from Mount Everest (elevation of 22,300 feet) to examine for their adaptive features. One of the discoveries they made was regarding the relationship between fungus and plant growth and why plants in these environments adapted.

This discovery also led to finding distinct relationships with other agricultural growth, which ultimately assisted with larger crop yields. In India, for example, this finding has facilitated crop growth on three million acres of farmland in the country.

Larger implications for these findings relate to supplying food in the middle of climate change. By learning how these particular types fungi can facilitate plant growth through their adaptive features, researchers can learn how to save plants in extreme conditions like flooding, droughts, and cold weather.