Everything about Mycologist totally explained
Mycology (from the
Greek μύκης, meaning "fungus") is the study of
fungi, their
genetic and
biochemical properties, their
taxonomy, and
their use to humans as a source for
tinder,
medicinals (for example,
penicillin), food (for example,
beer,
wine,
cheese,
edible mushrooms) and
entheogens, as well as their dangers, such as
poisoning or
infection. 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. A biologist who studies mycology is called a
mycologist.
Background
Historically, mycology was a branch of
botany (fungi are
evolutionarily more closely related to animals than to plants but this wasn't recognized until a few decades ago). Pioneer
mycologists included
Elias Magnus Fries,
Christian Hendrik Persoon,
Anton de Bary and
Lewis David von Schweinitz.
Today, the most comprehensively studied and understood fungi are the
yeasts and
eukaryotic model organisms Saccharomyces cerevisiae and
Schizosaccharomyces pombe.
Many fungi produce
toxins,
antibiotics, and other
secondary metabolites. For example, the
cosmopolitan (worldwide) 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, for example in the form of
mycorrhizae,
insect symbionts and
lichens as well as their potency in breaking down complex
organic biomolecules such as lignin, the more durable component of
wood, as well as
xenobiotics, a critical step in the global
carbon cycle.
Fungi and other organisms traditionally recognized as fungi, such as
oomycetes and myxomycetes (
slime molds), often are economically and socially important as some cause diseases of animals (such as
histoplasmosis) as well as plants (such as
Dutch elm disease and
Rice blast).
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."
Some fungi can cause disease in humans or other
organisms. The study of
pathogenic fungi is referred to as
medical mycology.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Mycologist'.
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