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Mycology

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Mycologyis the branch ofbiologyconcerned with the study offungi,including theirtaxonomy,genetics,biochemicalproperties, anduse by humans.Fungi can be a source oftinder,food,traditional medicine,as well asentheogens,poison,andinfection.Mycology branches into the field ofphytopathology,the study of plant diseases. The two disciplines are closely related, because the vast majority of plant pathogens are fungi. A biologist specializing in mycology is called amycologist.

Mushroomsare considered a kind of fungal reproductive organ.

Overview

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Although mycology was historically considered a branch ofbotany,the 1969 discovery[1]of fungi's closeevolutionaryrelationship to animals resulted in the study's reclassification as an independent field.[2]Pioneer mycologists includedElias Magnus Fries,Christiaan Hendrik Persoon,Heinrich Anton de Bary,Elizabeth Eaton Morse,andLewis David de Schweinitz.Beatrix Potter,author ofThe Tale of Peter Rabbit,also made significant contributions to the field.[3]

Pier Andrea Saccardodeveloped a system for classifying theimperfect fungiby spore color and form, which became the primary system used before classification byDNA analysis.He is most famous for hisSylloge Fungorum,[4]which was a comprehensive list of all of thenamesthat had been used formushrooms.Sylloge is still the only work of this kind that was both comprehensive for thebotanical kingdomFungiand reasonably modern.[5]

Many fungi producetoxins,[6]antibiotics,[7]and othersecondary metabolites.For example, thecosmopolitangenusFusariumand their toxins associated with fatal outbreaks of alimentary toxic aleukia in humans were extensively studied byAbraham Z. Joffe.[8]

Fungi are fundamental for life on earth in their roles assymbionts,e.g. in the form ofmycorrhizae,insectsymbionts, andlichens.Many fungi are able to break down complexorganicbiomoleculessuch aslignin,the more durable component ofwood,and pollutants such asxenobiotics,petroleum,andpolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.By decomposing these molecules, fungi play a critical role in the globalcarbon cycle.

Fungi and other organisms traditionally recognized as fungi, such asoomycetesand myxomycetes (slime molds), often are economically and socially important, as somecause diseasesof animals (including humans) and of plants.[9]

Apart from pathogenic fungi, many fungal species are very important in controlling the plant diseases caused by different pathogens. For example, species of the filamentous fungal genusTrichodermaare considered one of the most important biological control agents as an alternative to chemical-based products for effective crop diseases management.[10]

Field meetings to find interesting species of fungi are known as 'forays', after the first such meeting organized by theWoolhope Naturalists' Field Clubin 1868 and entitled "A foray among the funguses [sic] ".[11]

Some fungi can cause disease in humans and other animals; the study ofpathogenic fungithat infect animals is referred to asmedical mycology.[12]

History

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It is believed that humans startedcollecting mushroomsas food inprehistorictimes. Mushrooms were first written about in the works ofEuripides(480–406 BC). The Greek philosopherTheophrastosofEresos(371–288 BC) was perhaps the first to try to systematically classify plants; mushrooms were considered to be plants missing certain organs. It was laterPliny the Elder(23–79 AD), who wrote abouttrufflesin his encyclopediaNatural History.[13]The wordmycologycomes from theAncient Greek:μύκης(mukēs), meaning "fungus" and the suffix-λογία(-logia), meaning "study".[14]

Fungi and truffles are neither herbs, nor roots, nor flowers, nor seeds, but merely the superfluous moisture or earth, of trees, or rotten wood, and of other rotting things. This is plain from the fact that all fungi and truffles, especially those that are used for eating, grow most commonly in thundery and wet weather.

— Jerome Bock (Hieronymus Tragus), 1552[15]

TheMiddle Agessaw little advancement in the body of knowledge about fungi. However, the invention of the printing press allowed authors to dispel superstitions and misconceptions about the fungi that had been perpetuated by the classical authors.[16]

Group photograph taken at a meeting of theBritish Mycological Societyin 1913

The start of the modern age of mycology begins withPier Antonio Micheli's 1737 publication ofNova plantarum genera.[17]Published inFlorence,this seminal work laid the foundations for the systematicclassificationof grasses, mosses and fungi. He originated the still current genus namesPolyporus[18]andTuber,[19]both dated 1729 (though the descriptions were later amended as invalid by modern rules).

The foundingnomenclaturistCarl Linnaeusincluded fungi in hisbinomial naming systemin 1753, where each type of organism has a two-word name consisting of agenusandspecies(whereas up to then organisms were often designated with Latin phrases containing many words).[20]He originated the scientific names of numerous well-known mushroomtaxa,such asBoletus[21]andAgaricus,[22]which are still in use today. During this period, fungi were still considered to belong to the plant kingdom, so they were categorized in hisSpecies Plantarum.Linnaeus' fungal taxa were not nearly as comprehensive as his plant taxa, however, grouping together all gilled mushrooms with a stem in genusAgaricus.[23][24]Thousands of gilled species exist, which were later divided into dozens of diverse genera; in its modern usage,Agaricusonly refers to mushrooms closely related to the common shop mushroom,Agaricus bisporus.[25]For example, Linnaeus gave the nameAgaricus deliciosusto the saffron milk-cap, but its current name isLactarius deliciosus.[26]On the other hand, the field mushroomAgaricus campestrishas kept the same name ever since Linnaeus's publication.[27]The English word "agaric"is still used for any gilled mushroom, which corresponds to Linnaeus's use of the word.[25]

The termmycologyand the complementary termmycologistare traditionally attributed toM.J. Berkeleyin 1836.[28]However,mycologistappeared in writings by English botanistRobert Kaye Grevilleas early as 1823 in reference toSchweinitz.[29]

Mycology and drug discovery

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Main article:Medicinal fungi

For centuries, certain mushrooms have been documented as afolk medicineinChina,Japan,andRussia.[30]Although the use of mushrooms in folk medicine is centered largely on the Asian continent, people in other parts of the world like theMiddle East,Poland,andBelarushave been documented using mushrooms for medicinal purposes.[31]

Mushrooms produce large amounts ofvitamin Dwhen exposed toultraviolet (UV) light.[32]Penicillin,ciclosporin,griseofulvin,cephalosporinandpsilocybinare examples of drugs that have been isolated frommoldsor other fungi.[33]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Whittaker RH (10 January 1969). "New concepts of kingdoms of organisms: evolutionary relations are better represented by new classifications than by the traditional two kingdoms".Science.163(3863): 150–160.doi:10.1126/science.163.3863.150.PMID5762760.
  2. ^Woese CR,Kandler O,Wheelis ML (June 1990)."Towards a natural system of organisms: proposal for the domains Archaea, Bacteria, and Eucarya".Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.87(12): 4576–4579.Bibcode:1990PNAS...87.4576W.doi:10.1073/pnas.87.12.4576.PMC54159.PMID2112744.
  3. ^Casadevall A, Kontoyiannis DP, Robert V (July 2019)."On the Emergence ofCandida auris:Climate Change, Azoles, Swamps, and Birds ".mBio.10(4): 1786–1787.doi:10.3201/eid2509.ac2509.PMC6711238.PMID31337723.
  4. ^Saccardo, P. A.; Traverso, G. B.; Trotter, A. (1882).Sylloge fungorum omnium hucusque cognitorum.doi:10.5962/bhl.title.5371.[page needed]
  5. ^Bolman, Brad (September 2023). "What mysteries lay in spore: taxonomy, data, and the internationalization of mycology in Saccardo's Sylloge Fungorum".The British Journal for the History of Science.56(3): 369–390.doi:10.1017/S0007087423000158.PMID37248705.
  6. ^Wilson BJ (1971). Ciegler A, Kadis S, Ajl SJ (eds.).Microbial Toxins, Vol. VI Fungal Toxins.New York: Academic Press. p. 251.
  7. ^Brian, P. W. (June 1951). "Antibiotics produced by fungi".The Botanical Review.17(6): 357–430.Bibcode:1951BotRv..17..357B.doi:10.1007/BF02879038.
  8. ^Joffe, Abraham Z.; Yagen, Boris (January 1978). "Intoxication produced by toxic fungi Fusarium poae and F. sporotrichioides on chicks".Toxicon.16(3): 263–273.Bibcode:1978Txcn...16..263J.doi:10.1016/0041-0101(78)90087-9.PMID653754.
  9. ^De Lucca AJ (March 2007). "Harmful fungi in both agriculture and medicine".Revista Iberoamericana de Micologia.24(1): 3–13.PMID17592884.
  10. ^Ruano-Rosa, David; Prieto, Pilar; Rincón, Ana María; Gómez-Rodríguez, María Victoria; Valderrama, Raquel; Barroso, Juan Bautista; Mercado-Blanco, Jesús (June 2016). "Fate of Trichoderma harzianum in the olive rhizosphere: time course of the root colonization process and interaction with the fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae".BioControl.61(3): 269–282.Bibcode:2016BioCo..61..269R.doi:10.1007/s10526-015-9706-z.
  11. ^Anon (1868)."A foray among the funguses".Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club.1868.Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club.: 184–192.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-11-06.Retrieved2018-01-14.
  12. ^San-Blas, Gioconda; Calderone, Richard A. (2008).Pathogenic Fungi: Insights in Molecular Biology.Caister Academic Press.ISBN978-1-913652-13-5.[page needed]
  13. ^Pliny the Elder."Book 19, Chapter 11"[Natural History].perseus.tufts.edu.Archivedfrom the original on April 4, 2022.RetrievedFebruary 28,2021.
  14. ^Henry A (1861).A Glossary of Scientific Terms for general use.p. 131.
  15. ^De stirpium maxime earum quae in Germania nostra nascuntur, usitatis nomenclaturis.Strasbourg. InAinsworth 1976,p. 13 quotingBuller AH (1915). "Micheli and the discovery of reproduction in fungi".Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada.3.9:1–25.
  16. ^Ainsworth 1976,p. 13.
  17. ^Ainsworth 1976,p. 4.
  18. ^"the Polyporus P. Micheli page".indexfungorum.org.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-10-04.Retrieved2024-06-12.
  19. ^"the Tuber P. Micheli page".indexfungorum.org.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-07-15.Retrieved2024-06-12.
  20. ^Kibby, Geoffrey (2017).Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain & Europe.Geoffrey Kibby. pp. 14–15.ISBN978-0-9572094-2-8.
  21. ^"the Boletus L. page".indexfungorum.org.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-11-11.Retrieved2024-06-12.
  22. ^"the Agaricus L. page".indexfungorum.org.Retrieved2024-06-12.
  23. ^"Home".fmhibd.library.cmu.edu.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-07-12.Retrieved2024-06-12.
  24. ^Linné, Carl von; Linné, Carl von; Salvius, Lars (1753).Caroli Linnaei... Species plantarum:exhibentes plantas rite cognitas, ad genera relatas, cum differentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis, locis natalibus, secundum systema sexuale digestas...Vol. 2 (1st ed.). Holmiae: Impensis Laurentii Salvii. p. 1171.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-05-06.Retrieved2020-07-16.
  25. ^abLæssøe, Thomas; Petersen, Jens Henrik (2019).Fungi of Temperate Europe.Princeton University Press. pp. 8, 500.ISBN978-0-691-18037-3.
  26. ^"the Agaricus deliciosus L. page".speciesfungorum.org.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-12-01.Retrieved2024-06-12.
  27. ^"the Agaricus campestris L. page".speciesfungorum.org.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-11-16.Retrieved2024-06-12.
  28. ^Ainsworth 1976,p. 2.
  29. ^Greville, Robert Kaye (April 1823). "Observations on a New Genus of Plants, belonging to the Natural Order Gastromyci".The Edinburgh Philosophical Journal.8(16): 257.
  30. ^Sullivan, Richard.Medicinal Mushrooms: Their therapeutic properties and current medical usage with special emphasis on cancer treatments.p. 5.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-07-29.Retrieved2024-06-12.
  31. ^Shashkina, M. Ya.; Shashkin, P. N.; Sergeev, A. V. (October 2006). "Chemical and medicobiological properties of chaga (review)".Pharmaceutical Chemistry Journal.40(10): 560–568.doi:10.1007/s11094-006-0194-4.
  32. ^Cardwell G, Bornman JF, James AP, Black LJ (October 2018)."A Review of Mushrooms as a Potential Source of Dietary Vitamin D".Nutrients.10(10): 1498.doi:10.3390/nu10101498.PMC6213178.PMID30322118.
  33. ^Hyde, K.D., Baldrian, P., Chen, Y. et al (2024). "Current trends, limitations and future research in the fungi?." Fungal Diversity. 125: 1–71.https://doi.org/10.1007/s13225-023-00532-5

Cited literature

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  • Ainsworth, G. C. (1976).Introduction to the History of Mycology.Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-21013-3.
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