Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and infection. Mycology branches into the field 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.
Ascomycota is a phylum of the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, forms the subkingdom Dikarya. Its members are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 62,000 species. The defining feature of this fungal group is the "ascus", a microscopic sexual structure in which nonmotile spores, called ascospores, are formed. However, some species of Ascomycota are asexual and thus do not form asci or ascospores. Familiar examples of sac fungi include morels, truffles, brewers' and bakers' yeast, dead man's fingers, and cup fungi. The fungal symbionts in the majority of lichens such as Cladonia belong to the Ascomycota.
Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, whether pest animals such as insects and mites, weeds, or pathogens affecting animals or plants by using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also involves an active human management role. It can be an important component of integrated pest management (IPM) programs.
The Venus flytrap is a carnivorous plant native to the temperate and subtropical wetlands of North Carolina and South Carolina, on the East Coast of the United States. Although various modern hybrids have been created in cultivation, D. muscipula is the only species of the monotypic genus Dionaea. It is closely related to the waterwheel plant and the cosmopolitan sundews (Drosera), all of which belong to the family Droseraceae. Dionaea catches its prey—chiefly insects and arachnids—with a "jaw"-like clamping structure, which is formed by the terminal portion of each of the plant's leaves; when an insect makes contact with the open leaves, vibrations from the prey's movements ultimately trigger the "jaws" to shut via tiny hairs on their inner surfaces. Additionally, when an insect or spider touches one of these hairs, the trap prepares to close, only fully enclosing the prey if a second hair is contacted within (approximately) twenty seconds of the first contact. Triggers may occur as quickly as 1⁄10 of a second from initial contact.
A biopesticide is a biological substance or organism that damages, kills, or repels organisms seen as pests. Biological pest management intervention involves predatory, parasitic, or chemical relationships.
In agriculture and gardening, a beneficial organism is any organism that benefits the growing process, including insects, arachnids, other animals, plants, bacteria, fungi, viruses, and nematodes. Benefits include pest control, pollination, and maintenance of soil health. The opposite of beneficial organisms are pests, which are organisms deemed detrimental to the growing process. There are many different types of beneficial organisms as well as beneficial microorganisms. Also, microorganisms have things like salt and sugar in them. Beneficial organisms include but are not limited to: Birds, Bears, Nematodes, Insects, Arachnids, and fungi. The ways that birds and bears are considered beneficial is mainly because they consume seeds from plant and spread them through feces. Birds also prey on certain insects that eat plants and hinder them from growing these insects are known as non beneficial organisms. Nematodes are considered beneficial because they will help compost and provide nutrients for the soil the plants are growing in. Insects and arachnids help the growing process because they prey on non beneficial organisms that consume plants for food. Fungi help the growing process by using long threads of mycelium that can reach very long distances away from the tree or plant and bring water and nutrients back to the tree or plant roots.
Fungus gnats are small, dark, short-lived gnats, of the families Sciaridae, Diadocidiidae, Ditomyiidae, Keroplatidae, Bolitophilidae, and Mycetophilidae ; they comprise six of the seven families placed in the superfamily Sciaroidea.
Pleurotus eryngii is an edible mushroom native to Mediterranean regions of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, but also grown in many parts of Asia.
Saccharomycotina is a subdivision (subphylum) of the division (phylum) Ascomycota in the kingdom Fungi. It comprises most of the ascomycete yeasts. The members of Saccharomycotina reproduce by budding and they do not produce ascocarps.
Hyphomycetes are a form classification of fungi, part of what has often been referred to as fungi imperfecti, Deuteromycota, or anamorphic fungi. Hyphomycetes lack closed fruit bodies, and are often referred to as moulds. Most hyphomycetes are now assigned to the Ascomycota, on the basis of genetic connections made by life-cycle studies or by phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences; many remain unassigned phylogenetically.
Nematophagous fungi are carnivorous fungi specialized in trapping and digesting nematodes. Around 160 species are known. Species exist that live inside the nematodes from the beginning and others that catch them, mostly with glue traps or in rings, some of which constrict on contact. Some species possess both types of traps. Another technique is to stun the nematodes using toxins, a method employed by Coprinus comatus, Stropharia rugosoannulata, and the family Pleurotaceae. The habit of feeding on nematodes has arisen many times among fungi, as is demonstrated by the fact that nematophagous species are found in all major fungal groups. Nematophagous fungi can be useful in controlling those nematodes that eat crops. Purpureocillium, for example, can be used as a bio-nematicide.
Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods, and occasionally small mammals and birds. They still generate all of their energy from photosynthesis. They have adapted to grow in waterlogged sunny places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic bogs. They can be found on all continents except Antarctica, as well as many Pacific islands. In 1875, Charles Darwin published Insectivorous Plants, the first treatise to recognize the significance of carnivory in plants, describing years of painstaking research.
A fungus is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one of the traditional eukaryotic kingdoms, along with Animalia, Plantae and either Protista or Protozoa and Chromista.
The nematodes, roundworms or eelworms constitute the phylum Nematoda. They are a diverse animal phylum inhabiting a broad range of environments. Most species are free-living, feeding on microorganisms, but there are many that are parasitic. The parasitic worms (helminths) are the cause of soil-transmitted helminthiases.
The Orbiliaceae are a family of saprobic sac fungi. It is the only family in the monotypic class Orbiliomycetes and the monotypic order Orbiliales. The family was first described by John Axel Nannfeldt in 1932 and now contains 288 species in 12 genera. Members of this family have a widespread distribution, but are more prevalent in temperate regions. Some species in the Orbiliaceae are carnivorous fungi, and have evolved a number of specialized mechanisms to trap nematodes.
Tritrophic interactions in plant defense against herbivory describe the ecological impacts of three trophic levels on each other: the plant, the herbivore, and its natural enemies. They may also be called multitrophic interactions when further trophic levels, such as soil microbes, endophytes, or hyperparasitoids are considered. Tritrophic interactions join pollination and seed dispersal as vital biological functions which plants perform via cooperation with animals.
Arthrobotrys oligospora was discovered in Europe in 1850 by Georg Fresenius. A. oligospora is the model organism for interactions between fungi and nematodes. It is the most common nematode-capturing fungus, and most widespread nematode-trapping fungus in nature. It was the first species of fungi documented to actively capture nematodes.
Dactylellina haptotyla is a common soil-living fungus that develops structures to capture nematodes as nutrient source. In the presence of nematodes, spores can germinate into sticky knobs or non-constricting loops. The fungus traps nematodes with sticky knobs and non-constricting loops, then breakdown the cuticle, and penetrates the body of nematodes to obtain nutrients. For its predatory nature, Dactylellina haptotyla is also considered as nematode-trapping fungus or carnivorous fungus.
Stylopage is a polytypic genus of predacious fungus in the order Zoopagales, within the subphylum Zoopagomycotina. All known species of Stylopage subsist on various species of amoebae or nematodes by trapping their prey, typically using an adhesive substance that coats their vegetative hyphae, and absorbing nutrients through the projection of a haustorium. 17 extant Stylopage species have been described thus far.
Arthrobotrys musiformis is a species of nematode catching fungi, genus Arthrobotrys. This, like other Arthrobotrys species, captures and feeds on nematodes. It is widespread, with its initial discovery being in Norfolk, Virginia. This species demonstrates promising anti-helminth potential, and is hypothesized to reduce the number of parasitic nematodes in plants and livestock as either a biocontrol or through isolating metabolites.
