Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi,
including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use
to humans as a source for tinder, medicine, wine, cheese,, and entheogens,
as well as their dangers, such as poisoning or infection. A biologist
specializing in mycology is called a mycologist.
From mycology arose the field of phytopathology, the study of plant
diseases, and the two disciplines remain closely related because the vast
majority of "plant" pathogens are fungi. Historically, mycology was a branch of
botany because, although fungi are evolutionarily more closely related to
animals than to plants, this was not recognized until a few decades ago.
Pioneer mycologists included Elias Magnus Fries, Christian Hendrik Persoon,
Anton de Bary, and Lewis David von Schweinitz.
Many fungi produce toxins, antibiotics, and other secondary metabolites. For
example, the cosmopolitan genus Fusarium and their toxins associated with fatal
outbreaks of alimentary toxic aleukia in humans were extensively studied by
Abraham Joffe. Fungi are fundamental for life on earth
in their roles as symbionts, e.g. in the form of mycorrhizae, insect symbionts,
and lichens. Many fungi are able to break down complex organic 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 oomycetes and myxomycetes, often are economically
and socially important, as some cause diseases of animals as well as plants.
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].
Some fungi can cause disease in humans or other organisms. The study of
pathogenic fungi is referred to as medical mycology.
History It is presumed that humans started
collecting mushrooms as food in Prehistoric times. Mushrooms were first
written about in the works of Euripides. The Greek philosopher Theophrastos of
Eressos was perhaps the first to try to systematically classify plants;
mushrooms were considered to be plants missing certain organs. It was later
Pliny the elder, who wrote about truffles in his encyclopedia Naturalis
historia. The word mycology comes from the Greek: μύκης, meaning "fungus" and
the suffix -λογία, meaning "study". The Middle Ages saw little advancement
in the body of knowledge about fungi. Rather, the invention of the printing
press allowed some authors to disseminate superstitions and
misconceptions about the fungi that had been perpetuated by the classical
authors. The start of the modern age of mycology
begins with Pier Antonio Micheli's 1737 publication of Nova plantarum genera.
Published in Florence, this seminal work laid the foundations for the systematic
classification of grasses, mosses and fungi. The term mycology and the
complementary mycologist were first used in 1836 by M.J. Berkeley.
Medicinal mycology For centuries, certain mushrooms have
been documented as a folk medicine in China, Japan, and Russia. 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. Certain mushrooms,
especially polypores like Reishi were thought to be able to benefit a wide
variety of health ailments. Medicinal mushroom research in the United States
is currently active, with studies taking place at City of Hope National Medical
Center, as well as the Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center.
Current research focuses on mushrooms that may have hypoglycemic activity,
anti-cancer activity, anti-pathogenic activity, and immune system-enhancing
activity. Recent research has found that the oyster mushroom naturally contains
the cholesterol-lowering drug lovastatin, mushrooms produce large
amounts of vitamin D when exposed to UV light, and that certain fungi may be a
future source of taxol. To date, penicillin, lovastatin, ciclosporin,
griseofulvin, cephalosporin, ergometrine, and statins are the most
famous pharmaceuticals that have been isolated from the fungi kingdom.
See also Fungal Biochemical Tests
List of mycologists List of mycology journals
Mushroom hunting Mycotoxicology
Pathogenic fungi Protistology
References = Cited literature=
Geoffrey Clough Ainsworth. Introduction to the History of Mycology. Cambridge
University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-21013-3.
External links Professional organizations
BMS: British Mycological Society MSA: Mycological Society of America
Amateur organizations Mycological Society of San Francisco
North American Mycological Association Puget Sound Mycological Society
Oregon Mycological Society Miscellaneous links
Online lectures in mycology University of South Carolina
The WWW Virtual Library: Mycology MykoWeb links page
Mycological Glossary at the Illinois Mycological Association
FUNGI Magazine for professionals and amateurs - largest circulating U.S.
publication concerning all things mycological]
Fungal Cell Biology Group at University of Edinburgh, UK.
Mycological Marvels Cornell University, Mann Library