Our clothes in the future can be a living and self-repairing material!

A team from the University of Newcastle and Northumbria in the UK has found that the thin, root-like filaments produced by many fungi can potentially be used as a biodegradable material.

In their tests, the researchers focused on the fungus Ganoderma lucidum, which produces a skin of branched hyphae, which weave together into a structure called a fungus.

With a little work, thin leather can serve as an alternative to leather, satisfying vegan, ecological and fashionistas' tastes, although the process of creating it also needs to be sped up and refined before it can be made into next season's jacket.

"The results indicate that fungal material can survive in dry environments and malnutrition, and self-healing is possible with minimal intervention after a two-day recovery period," the researchers wrote in their published paper.

Fungi-based materials are already being used in a variety of fields, from construction to textiles. However, the process used to produce these materials tends to kill chlamydial spores — the fungal spores that help an organism renew itself.

The new approach, which includes a mixture of fungi, chlamydia spores, carbohydrates, proteins and other nutrients in the liquid, encouraged the growth of skin that could be removed and dried. The findings are currently too delicate to be made into clothing, but the researchers are confident that future innovations could transform skin into tougher skin, perhaps by combining layers or plasticizers in glycerin.

Crucially, the production process did not kill chlamydial spores, which could be revived to grow new filaments over the lacunae in the skin.

Tests of the material showed that it was indeed able to replace the holes created in it, if placed under similar conditions in which it was grown. The material was as strong as before, although it could still be seen where the holes were.

"The ability of this regenerative fungal material to heal micro- and macro defects opens up exciting future prospects for unique product applications in substitutes for leather goods such as furniture, car seats, and fashion apparel," the researchers wrote.

The team also did some work with the fungus Pleurotus ostreatus, which does not contain chlamydial spores. It was not able to self-heal in the same way, indicating that it was Chlamydia spores that gave the material its ability to regenerate.

There's a long way to go here before you wear clothes made of fungi. And the growth and healing processes take several days to happen in the moment, for example, something that can be accelerated over time.

Still, these are exciting times for what researchers call engineered living materials, or ELMs: because of the living cells inside them, they're able to adapt to their environment, and they can be modified in a variety of ways.

"Engineered living materials composed entirely of fungal cells offer great potential due to their functional properties such as self-assembly, sensing, and self-healing," the researchers wrote.

The research has been published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.