From mushrooms to global players in the carbon cycle to pathogens: the ecological, cultural and medical significance of the earth’s fungal organisms is enormous. In the October issue, Bild der Wissenschaft sheds light on the fascinating world of these often overlooked creatures.
When we think of the animal or plant world, the enormous diversity and importance of these creatures comes to mind. The kingdom of fungi, on the other hand, is rather foreign to most people. The term is often only associated with the fruiting bodies of mushrooms such as button mushrooms and the like, or with the mold in jam jars and on damp walls. But the world of so-called fungi has much more to offer. After all, alongside animals and plants, they are no less than the third main phylum of multicellular organisms. Over the course of their long evolutionary history, these organisms have produced a huge variety of groups and species with very different ways of life. Fungi therefore play an important role in nature – and also for humans.
In the first article of the three-part cover story, bdw author Juliette Irmer examines this complex significance. She first focuses on the ecological aspects: certain types of fungi play an important role in the earth’s carbon cycle and thus in climate change. In addition to their function in the breakdown and build-up of biomass, some species have also promoted plant growth since time immemorial: up to 90 percent of all land plants form a community with mycorrhizal fungi.
The author also reports on the possible effects of climate change on the different forms of fungi. For example, it is becoming apparent that global warming can promote the spread of fungal pathogens in agriculture. The article “Flora. Fauna. FUNGA.” also focuses on efforts to better understand the kingdom of fungi, which has so far been under-researched.
Fungi-Archaeology and Problem Fungi
Then, bdw author Bettina Wurche focuses on the cultural significance and history of the use of mushrooms. The roots of their role as food, medicine and intoxicant are therefore deep. However, researching the history of the use of mushrooms is associated with special challenges, reports the author. Archaeologists have therefore even founded a network to better investigate human-mushroom relationships. In the article “What mushrooms tell us,” Wurche also highlights a problematic aspect that certain mushrooms can have in archaeology: they decompose objects made of organic material.
The third article on the title topic also deals with problematic fungi: bdw author Susanne Donner reports on fungal pathogens in humans. This is a growing challenge for medicine. Pathogenic species such as Candida auris, Aspergillus fumigatus and Cryptococcus neoformans are currently on the rise. They can cause pneumonia and meningitis as well as blood poisoning, especially in people with weak immune systems. The author explains why fungal infections are currently spreading and why combating them is so difficult. Prevention is therefore very important: the risk of fungal infections could be reduced by specifically strengthening a healthy microbial community in the body, reports Donner in the article “Threatening Fungi”.
You can read the articles on the cover story “The Power of Mushrooms” online as part of a bdw+ subscription, or you can find them in the October issue of bild der wissenschaft, which will be available in stores from September 20.