Mycology

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Mycologist
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Mushrooms
are considered a kind of fungal reproductive organ.
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Mycology is the branch of

phytopathology
, 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 a mycologist.

Overview

Although mycology was historically considered a branch of

Lewis David von Schweinitz. Beatrix Potter, author of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, also made significant contributions to the field.[3]

mushrooms. Sylloge is still the only work of this kind that was both comprehensive for the botanical kingdom Fungi and reasonably modern.[citation needed
]

Many fungi produce

Abraham Joffe.[7]

Fungi are fundamental for life on earth in their roles as

biomolecules such as lignin, the more durable component of wood, and pollutants such as xenobiotics, petroleum, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. By decomposing these molecules, fungi play a critical role in the global carbon cycle
.

Fungi and other organisms traditionally recognized as fungi, such as

cause diseases of animals (including humans) and of plants.[8]

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 genus Trichoderma are considered one of the most important biological control agents as an alternative to chemical-based products for effective crop diseases management.[9]

Field meetings to find interesting species of fungi are known as 'forays', after the first such meeting organized by the Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club in 1868 and entitled "A foray among the funguses [sic]".[10]

Some fungi can cause disease in humans and other animals; the study of

medical mycology.[11]

History

It is believed that humans started

truffles in his encyclopedia Natural History.[12] The word mycology comes from the Ancient Greek: μύκης (mukēs), meaning "fungus" and the suffix -λογία (-logia), meaning "study".[13]

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[14]

The Middle Ages saw 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.[15]

Group photograph taken at a meeting of the British Mycological Society in 1913

The start of the modern age of mycology begins with

classification of grasses, mosses and fungi. He originated the still current genus names Polyporus[17] and Tuber,[18]
both dated 1729 (though the descriptions were later amended as invalid by modern rules).

The founding

taxa, such as Boletus[20] and Agaricus,[21] which are still in use today. During this period, fungi were still considered to belong to the plant kingdom, so they were categorized in his Species Plantarum. Linnaeus' fungal taxa were not nearly as comprehensive as his plant taxa, however, grouping together all gilled mushrooms with a stem in genus Agaricus.[22][23] Thousands of gilled species exist, which were later divided into dozens of diverse genera; in its modern usage, Agaricus only refers to mushrooms closely related to the common shop mushroom, Agaricus bisporus.[24] For example, Linnaeus gave the name Agaricus deliciosus to the saffron milk-cap, but its current name is Lactarius deliciosus.[25] On the other hand, the field mushroom Agaricus campestris has kept the same name ever since Linnaeus's publication.[26] The English word "agaric" is still used for any gilled mushroom, which corresponds to Linnaeus's use of the word.[24]

The term mycology and the complementary term mycologist are traditionally attributed to M.J. Berkeley in 1836.[27] However, mycologist appeared in writings by English botanist Robert Kaye Greville as early as 1823 in reference to Schweinitz.[28]

Mycology and drug discovery

Main article:
Medicinal fungi

For centuries, certain mushrooms have been documented as a folk medicine in China, Japan, and Russia.[29] Although the use of mushrooms in folk medicine is centered largely on the Asian continent, people in other parts of the world like the Middle East, Poland, and Belarus have been documented using mushrooms for medicinal purposes.[30]

Mushrooms produce large amounts of

molds or other fungi.[32][33]

See also

References

  1. PMID 5762760
    .
  2. PMID 2112744
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  3. PMID 31337723
    .
  4. ^ Saccardo, P. A.; Saccardo, P. A.; Traverso, G. B.; Trotter, A. (1882). Sylloge fungorum omnium hucusque cognitorum. Patavii: sumptibus auctoris.
  5. ^ Wilson BJ (1971). Ciegler A, Kadis S, Ajl SJ (eds.). Microbial Toxins, Vol. VI Fungal Toxins. New York: Academic Press. p. 251.
  6. S2CID 7772971
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  7. PMID 653754
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  8. PMID 17592884
    .
  9. S2CID 12336349
    .
  10. ^ Anon (1868). "A foray among the funguses". Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club. 1868. Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club.: 184–192.
  11. ISBN 978-1-904455-32-5
    .
  12. ^ Pliny the Elder. "Book 19, Chapter 11" [Natural History]. www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  13. ^ Henry A (1861). A Glossary of Scientific Terms for general use. p. 131.
  14. ^ De stirpium maxime earum quae in Germania nostra nascuntur, usitatis nomenclaturis. Strasbourg. In Ainsworth 1976, p. 13 quoting Buller AH (1915). "Micheli and the discovery of reproduction in fungi". Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada. 3. 9: 1–25.
  15. ^ Ainsworth 1976, p. 13.
  16. ^ Ainsworth 1976, p. 4.
  17. ^ "the Polyporus P. Micheli page". Index Fungorum. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
  18. ^ "the Tuber P. Micheli page". Index Fungorum. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
  19. ISBN 9780957209428
    .
  20. ^ "the Boletus L. page". Index Fungorum. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
  21. ^ "the Agaricus L. page". Index Fungorum. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
  22. ^ Kiger RW. "Index to Binomials Cited in the First Edition of Linnaeus' Species Plantarum". Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation. Archived from the original on 2018-07-12. Retrieved 2018-07-12. Searching on the names Agaricus or Boletus, for instance, finds many mushroom species described by Linnaeus under those genera.
  23. ^ Linnaeus C (1753). Species Plantarum: exhibentes plantas rite cognitas, ad genera relatas, cum differentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis, locis natalibus, secundum systema sexuale digestas (in Latin) (1st ed.). Stockholm: Impensis Laurentii Salvii. The entries for fungi start with Agaricus on page 1171 of volume 2.
  24. ^
    ISBN 9780691180373
    . Page 8 defines the word "agaric" and page 500 gives the modern definition of Agaricus.
  25. ^ "the Agaricus deliciosus L. page". Species Fungorum. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  26. ^ "the Agaricus campestris L. page". Species Fungorum. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  27. ^ Ainsworth 1976, p. 2.
  28. ^ 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.
  29. ^ Smith JE, Rowan NJ, Sullivan R (May 2002). "Medicinal Mushrooms: Their therapeutic properties and current medical usage with special emphasis on cancer treatments". Cancer Research UK. p. 5. Archived from the original on 2009-08-31.
  30. S2CID 22139534
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  31. PMID 30322118
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  32. ^ "Fungal Bioactive Metabolites of Pharmacological Relevance | Frontiers Research Topic". www.frontiersin.org. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  33. ^ "Aspergillus alliaceus - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics". www.sciencedirect.com. Retrieved 2021-02-01.

Cited literature

External links

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Mycology
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