by Janie — Behind the scenes, underground, fungal networks are essential to the wellbeing of forests. Trees symbiotically associate with mycorrhizal fungi, exchanging plant-produced sugars for fungus-gathered soil nutrients and water. It's an intimate arrangement: the fungal cells thread between... Read more →
Fungomania III. A Yeast Messes with the Gut Microbiome
by Elio — The microbiome of the large intestine of mammals, mainly composed of bacteria, is the subject of innumerable current studies. And for good reasons. Of all the body's microbiomes, it is the largest in numbers, variety, and of likely importance in health and disease. Defying expectations, it is remarkably stable... Read more →
Fungomania II. A (not so) new face of Fusarium
by Roberto — This is a story about fusaria by an admittedly non-expert. Much of what I write in this post I just recently learned, thus revealing from the start my naïveté on the fascinating subject of fungi as high protein foods. Read more →
Fungomania I. Fungi Make Flowers
by Elio — Nature seems to be intent in fooling everyone, experienced botanists included. An example is seen in the ability of some fungi to change the terminal leaves of certain mustard plants into what look like floral petals, making them look like real flowers. Pollinating insects are attracted to them and land on these structures... Read more →
Underground Highways
by Roberto — This photograph, taken from our book Life at the Edge of Sight, shows a network of almost invisible fungal filaments which, like miniature highways, wind their way around peaks and form bridges over valleys all within a minute amount of soil. Read more →
Exploration, Streptomyces-style
by Roberto — The evolutionary trajectories of bacteria are greatly influenced by their reproductive success in changing environments. Of course, this is not just about how fast bacteria divide when conditions permit growth but also how well they survive in the absence of growth. In addition, an important determinant of the overall fitness of a bacterial lineage is... Read more →
Three to Tango
by Elio — How many symbioses that involve three partners can you think of? Surely, not many. But here is one, involving a pathogenic fungus, a bacterium, and a fungal virus. Read more →
Fungomania III. Of a Fungus and a Crop
by Roberto — There are literally thousands of fungal species that cause plant diseases and their effects on agricultural crops ends of costing billions of dollars every year. Many of these fungal plant pathogens are fascinating subjects for study. Among the many, I have a personal "favorite." I place the word in quotes because I recognize the oddity of labeling a pathogen... Read more →
Fungomania II. Singing Frogs
by Roberto — Like many others, I am having trouble focusing on work these days. I admit it, I've had difficulties sitting down to write this post; the mind keeps wandering off, imagining the likely scenarios of the coming months. After all, we are in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In an effort to overcome my anxiety, I find solace in thinking that... Read more →
Fungomania I. Enoki
by Elio — You most likely have eaten enoki mushrooms in a Japanese soup or a salad. You may have wondered about them, looking as they do as thin whitish noodles with a small cap at the end... Read more →