Hugh Bollinger / Friday, July 8, 2011

Fantastic fungi

Fungi are fascinating, tasty, and critically important. Once considered part of the plant kingdom, they are now classified in their own biological domain, the fungi, separate from plants, animals, and bacteria. A major difference is that fungi have cell walls-- like plants --but contain chitin-- like mollusks --unlike plant cell walls which contain cellulose. Without the fungal symbiosis with plants called a mychorrhiza, Life on Earth would not have evolved. This fungal-root infrastructure represents the natural bridge between the biosphere and soil chemistry. We are completely dependent upon this relationship and the other biological functions fungi do to recycle decaying nutrients through ecosystems. We call the most visible fungal forms: mushrooms. [caption id="attachment_5263" align="aligncenter" width="310" caption="Mychorrhizal fungi network illustration: Fine Gardening"]

[/caption] Fungi can also be very beautiful and strange. Physorg-- an online science news service --has announced the re-discovery of a bio-luminescent mushroom that had not been seen since it was first discovered in 1840. It is always exciting when a species thought extinct is rediscovered. Botanical researchers from San Francisco State University have now collected new specimens of the forgotten mushroom in Brazil. Their discovery is scheduled to be published in the November/December print issue of Mycologia. [caption id="attachment_5281" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Bio-luminescent mushroom rediscovered source: Physorg.com"]

[/caption] The SF State mushroom investigators hope the study of these rare "shrooms"-- which shine bright enough to read by --and their bio-luminescent cousins elsewhere in the world will help answer the question of how and why these fungi naturally 'glow in the dark'. They really are fantastic fungi. WHB

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Tags: ecology bioluminescence fungi mushrooms mychorrhizae Mycologia symbiosis

Fantastic fungi

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