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An essay on fungi as our friend and foes
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Fungi are one of the most important groups of organisms on the planet. This is easy to overlook, given their largely hidden, unseen actions and growth. They are important in an enormous variety of ways. Recycling Fungi, together with bacteria, are responsible for most of the recycling which returns dead material to the soil in a form in which it can be reused. Without fungi, these recycling activities would be seriously reduced. We would effectively be lost under piles many metres thick, of dead plant and animal remains. Mycorrhizae and plant growth Fungi are vitally important for the good growth of most plants, including crops, through the development of mycorrhizal associations. As plants are at the base of most food chains, if their growth …show more content…
Many mushrooms are edible and different species are cultivated for sale worldwide. While this is a very small proportion of the actual food that we eat, fungi are also widely used in the production of many foods and drinks. These include cheeses, beer and wine, bread, some cakes, and some soya bean products. While a great many wild fungi are edible, it can be difficult to correctly identify them. Some mushrooms are deadly if they are eaten. Fungi with names such as 'Destroying Angel' and 'Death Cap' give us some indication that it would not be a terribly good idea to eat them! In some countries, collecting wild mushrooms to eat is a popular activity. It is always wise to be totally sure that what you have collected is edible and not a poisonous look-a-like. hm00163_.wmf (7282 …show more content…
The fungus can occur on a variety of grasses. It produces small hard structures, known as sclerotia. These sclerotia can cause poisoning in humans and animals which have eaten infected material. However, these same sclerotia are also the source of a powerful and important drug which has uses in childbirth. Biocontrolwpe2F.jpg (3407 bytes) Fungi such as the Chinese caterpillar fungus, which parasitise insects, can be extremely useful for controlling insect pests of crops. The spores of the fungi are sprayed on the crop pests. Fungi have been used to control Colorado potato beetles, which can devastate potato crops. Spittlebugs, leaf hoppers and citrus rust mites are some of the other insect pests which have been controlled using fungi. This method is generally cheaper and less damaging to the environment than using chemical pesticides. Crop Diseases Fungal parasites may be useful in biocontrol, but they can also have enormous negative consequences for crop production. Some fungi are parasites of plants. Most of our common crop plants are susceptible to fungal attack of one kind or another. Spore production and dispersal is enormously efficient in fungi and plants of the same species crowded together in fields are ripe for attack. Fungal diseases can on occasion result in the loss of entire crops if they are not treated with antifungal
Sordaria fimicola belongs to the kingdom of fungi and is part of the phylum Ascosmycota. This fungus habitat is in the feces of herbivores. As many fungi Sordaria have one life cycles which is haploid/ diploid. It is commonly exits as a haploid organism, but when the mycelium from two individuals meets, the result is a diploid zygote. This diploid zygote which undergoes meiosis forms eight haploid ascospores . The ability of Sordaria to make 8 haploid ascospores is what makes it unique and important for the laboratory exercise done in lab.
All over this planet from the ocean floor to the forests and jungles some form of Fungi can be present. Though they can be found in many different forms such as mold yeast, the most commonly known is the Mushroom. Found in the wild on dead plant and animal matter, the mushroom is nothing more then the fruit of a fungus spore and can be a nutrisous food. There is a specific Genus of these Fungi that have a unique chemical inside of them. Psilocybin or its chemical name Dihydrogen Phospate is a naturally occuring compound with strong Psychoactive properties.
The appearance of Hydnum repandum is quite unique. The stipe of the fungi can range from two to seven centimeters tall, and one to three centimeters thick (Wood). The surface of the stipe can range from cream to yellow in color, and is dry and smooth. The cap of the mushroom is two to ten centimeters broad, with a smooth, dry surface (Graham 84). The caps color can range from cream to orange. It has a thick flesh that is very brittle, with a mild taste and odor. The hymenophore has teeth that are 0.4 to 0.6 centimeters long. They are cream colored, and also brittle (Wood).
In Chorus of Mushrooms food works as both an isolating and binding factor for Naoe, Keiko and Murasaki. While the three women struggle with an identity crisis, they realize that eating Japanese food gives their life a sense of purpose and meaning. Sharing and Consuming traditional Japanese dishes allows the women to express their multicultural identity in a more authentic way. Naoe, Keiko and Murasaki prove that despite all odds, it is possible to achieve a sense of balance between their Japanese and Canadian culture, and it conceivable to create an alternative identity for themselves, a hybrid cultural
Tyrosinase is an enzyme found in Portabella mushrooms. Tyrosinase is the enzyme most responsible for the brown color of Portabella mushrooms, as it is found in larger amounts than other pigmentations. Tyrosinase is also found in Tyrosinase vesicles in the cell wall of Portabella mushrooms. Tyrosinase plays a huge role in Portabella mushrooms in that it is active in most chemical reactions including oxidation, phosphorylation and other important mechanisms within the cell. The journal article examines the biochemical characteristics of Tyrosinase in Portabella mushrooms by specifically extracting it from the gill tissue. In order to effectively examine Tyrosinase, purification of this enzyme was to be extracted which resulted in difficulties because mushroom gill tissue is small in size while the Tyrosinase enzymes are abundant in such tissue. Adsorbents and precipitation methods were used to isolate Tyrosinase. These methods, however; were not successful as they either only provided a small amount of the enzyme or decreased the enzymatic activity desired for ob...
The fungus sclerotinia sclerotiorum over winters as sclerotia either in the soil or in stubble at the soil surface (Morton and Hall, 1989). If the weather (moisture and temperature) is favorable, small mushroom-like structures called apothecia will be produced on the sclerotia. Each sclerotia can several apothecia. Apothecia can produce millions of spores called ascospores. Ascospores will be released in air when the apothecia is mature. Some ascospores land on canola plants and infect dead canola tissues like fal...
Changes in factors such as temperature and rainfall, which can affect the growth of the fungus in the environment and how much of it is circulating in the air.
There were many arbitrary causes of the Irish potato famine, one of which was a fungus, Phytophthora infestans, which was accidentally transferred to Ireland from Mexico. Since the fungus was airborne it was virtually impossible to stop, and it wiped out almost all of Irelands potato crop in just a few years. Specifically, this fungus c...
Schumann, Gail L., and Cleora J. D'Arcy. Hungry Planet: Stories of Plant Diseases. St. Paul: American Phytopathological Society, 2012. Print.
The potato famine of 1846 was one of the biggest natural disasters in Irish history. The “explosive disease” said William Fry, Ph.D., caused by Phytophtera infestans, is a condition that prevents growth and destroys the plant by disease. P. infestans is a fungus-like pathogen that infects and destroys the leaves, stems, potato seed and the potato itself, turning it black and slimy (Craig, 1998). The first signs of blight are when leaves get brown specks on them that start to get white, hairy growth around them (Damsker, n.d.). In addition, leaves and stems withered very quickly. This if followed by a terrible smell. It spreads as a spore and grows rapidly in moist, warm and humid conditions. Today, the blight disease still affects potato crops. However, an application of the plant fungicide, metalaxyl, or copper sulfate mixtures and pesticide will prevent and eliminate or, at least, decrease the possibility of its appearance (Daly, 1996). In fact, according to Gibbon’s article in 2013, the pathogen and its host of dried leaves ar...
Yeast Yeast are a tiny form of fungi or plant-like microorganism (visible only under a microscope) that exist in or on all living matter i.e. water, soil, plants, air, etc. A common example of a yeast is the bloom we can observe on grapes. As a living organism yeast needs sugars, water and warmth to stay alive. In addition, albumen or nitrogenous material are also necessary for yeast to thrive.
Microbial decomposition releases nutrients into the environment that are needed by other organisms. Microbes are also involved in the cycling of many other important compounds in — and between — ecosystems, including oxygen, carbon and nitrogen. Many microbes use the energy of sunlight to convert carbon dioxide to oxygen, which we need to breathe. As they do this, they create new organic material — themselves — which are then eaten by other organisms. In this way, the cycling of nutrients and energy
Instead of using pesticides in farming a better alternative would be biological control. This is when a natural predator is released into the crop growing area as a result the number of pests can be reduced.
0 Introduction Fungi produce several toxic substances. However, not all these toxic substances can be classified as mycotoxins. These toxins are classified and defined based on the hosts they harm, and the amount of toxins secreted by fungi. For example, toxins that are produced to harm bacteria are grouped as antibiotics, while toxins harmful to humans are called mycotoxins[1]. It is important to note that the term mycotoxins is limited only to fungal toxins required at low concentrations to produce disease in humans.
Studies have shown that there are bacteria and fungi with certain strains that live in soil. When they are applied to the seeds, they can aid crops by invigorating plant growth or by decreasing the damage created from plant pathogens bred from the soil. Another example is the bacterial species, Mycorrhiza. It is a fungus, which is able to form a union with a majority of land plants. When this action occurs, that symbiotic relationship assists to increase uptake by the root system to about 90 percent. This in turn helps the plant take in water and nutrients from deep inside the soil. It also allows the activation of genes and physiological changes in the plant which helps them to survive drought circumstances. Other microbes are also able to lift a plant 's resistance to bugs. A larger focus on microorganisms colonizing our plants and sharing a symbiotic relationship with them would greatly improve yields and lessen the need for costly fertilizers and pesticides. Information such as this would be very useful for students in college who are interested in businesses such as