Many faces of fungi

Fungi play vitally important roles in the natural environment and in our lives. This year, our theme for UK Fungus Day is the many faces of fungi, encapsulating the myriad of ways that fungi contribute to our world.

Consider:

Their role in natural ecosystems
Fungi in collaboration or conflict with plants, animals and other microorganisms
How fungi benefit humans and other animals as food or in medicine
Their role as inspiration for art, music and writing
Innovation in sustainable construction, clothing and packaging materials
Fungi as the foundations of mythology and folklore

Here are just a few of the many faces of fungi...

Tonnes of mushrooms

In the United Kingdom we produce 106,000 tonnes of Agaricus bisporus (button mushroom/common mushroom/white mushroom) each year, worth a total of £245 million. (Chestnut and Portobello mushrooms are also Agaricus bisporus - at different stages of growth.)

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Image: Button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus)

Santa Claus’s reindeer

The origins of Santa’s flying reindeer may link back to the Saami reindeer herders of northern Scandinavia. The herders were said to feed their reindeer Fly agaric mushrooms (Amanita muscaria) – with psychedelic properties that made the reindeer leap around.

Image: Fly agaric (Amanita muscari)

Carbon storage

Fungi that form beneficial links with plant roots are thought to contribute to around 181 billion tonnes of carbon storage in above-ground biomass - about 3-times higher than global energy-related emissions.

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Image: Fungal threads (arbuscles and hyphae) in root of Macrotyloma uniflorum (horse gram or kulthi bean). Credit: Rajarshi Rit CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

A_fungus_(Pholiota_squarrosa)._Watercolour,_1897._Wellcome_V0043365.jpg

What actually is a fungus?

For hundreds of years, all fungi were considered to be plants. It wasn’t until the mid-20th century that fungi were moved from the Plant Kingdom to their own new Kingdom by ecologist Robert Whittaker, who based it on how fungi obtained their food amongst other differences.

Image: A fungus (Pholiota squarrosa). Watercolour, 1897. Wellcome Image Library

Armillaria_ectypa - Marsh Honey Fungus -Pärismaalane, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.j

Conservation

Despite being essential for the existence of life on Earth, fungi are the most under-represented group on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. See The Global Fungal Red List Initiative for how you can help increase the fungi on the list.

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Image: Marsh Honey Fungus (Armillaria ectypa) – endangered in Great Britain. Credit: Pärismaalane, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae -Bob Blaylock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.jpg

Making cocoa

Several yeasts are involved in cocoa fermentation (including Hanseniaspora opuntiae, Pichia kudriavzevii and Saccharomyces cerevisiae), producing higher alcohols and acetylCoA to make acetate esters that give chocolate its floral and fruity aroma.

Image: Saccharomyces cerevisiae - Baker’s yeast. Credit: Bob Blaylock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Amanita_phalloides_Cricket Raspet CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.jpg

Antidote to toxic mushroom

The Death Cap mushroom, Amanita phalloides, is responsible for about 90% of mushroom-related deaths globally. Australian and Chinese researchers believe they have found an antidote to the toxin: a green dye used in medical imaging.

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Image: Amanita phalloides (Death Cap fungus) Credit: Cricket Raspet CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Producing medicines

Cephalosporins are a large group of antibiotics derived from Acremonium moulds. They are used to treat MSRA and other multidrug resistant bacterial infections and have a global market size of £14.6 billion per year.

Image: Acremonium falciforme. Credit: Public Health Image Library

Lichens: a partnership between kingdoms

Lichens can be easily confused with plants, mosses, fungi, or bacteria but in fact they are none of these. Lichens are a symbiotic partnership between very distinct life forms - a fungus (and sometimes more than one!) and a green alga and / or cyanobacterium.

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Hidden fungi: illuminating fungal dark matter

Fungi are ancient organisms that have been around for a billion years. Despite comprising a diverse group of organisms with unique characteristics and ecological roles, Kingdom Fungi remains largely unexplored and hidden away.

Often overshadowed by the charismatic Plants and Animals, Fungi are estimated to number between 11.7 and 13.2 million species, of which only about 150,000, a tiny fraction, have been formally described. The unexplored majority are known as the fungal ‘dark matter’.

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Fungi: the pollution solution?

The decomposer abilities of fungi have provided the foundation for much of life on our planet. Having had a pivotal role in the evolution of life on Earth, can fungi also aid in its preservation, particularly in the face of increasing pollution and climate change?

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