Fungal Paradise

Yeast in Industry
Yeasts are eukaryotic microorganisms classified in the kingdom Fungi. hey dominate fungal diversity in the oceans. Most reproduce asexually by budding, although a few do so by binary fission. Yeasts are unicellular, although some species with yeast forms may become multi-cellular through the formation of a string of connected budding cells known as pseudohyphae, or false hyphae as seen in most molds. Yeast size can vary greatly depending on the species, typically measuring 3–4 µm in diameter, although some yeast can reach over 40 µm. The yeast species Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been used in baking and fermenting alcoholic beverages for thousands of years. It is also extremely important as a model organism in modern cell biology research, and is the most thoroughly researched eukaryotic microorganism. Researchers have used it to gather information into the biology of the eukaryotic cell and ultimately human biology. Other species of yeast, such as Candida albicans, are opportunistic pathogens and can cause infection in humans. Yeasts have recently been used to generate electricity in microbial fuel cells, and produce ethanol for the biofuel industry.


Poisonous Mushrooms
Poisonous Mushrooms refers to deleterious effects from ingestion of toxic substances present in a mushroom. These symptoms caused can vary from slight gastrointestinal discomfort to death. The toxins present are secondary metabolites produced in specific biochemical pathways in the fungal cells. Mushroom poisoning is usually the result of ingestion of wild mushrooms after misidentification of a toxic mushroom as an edible species. The most common reason for this misidentification is close resemblance in terms of color and general morphology of the toxic mushrooms species with edible species. Even very experienced wild mushroom gatherers are sometimes poisoned by eating toxic species, despite being well aware of the risks.

Lichens
A lichen is a symbiosis. Meaning it is two or more organisms living together such that both are more successful within the partnership than they would have been if they were living on their own. With lichens the basic components of this partnership are a fungus called the 'mycobiont' and one or more algae and a cyanobacteria called the 'photobiont'. The true nature of the symbiosis between this two partners is still being debated by scientists and some would maintain that the fungus is a parasite on the photobiont. However, in many cases, the algae in question cannot survive alone in the habitat occupied by the lichen any more than the unattached fungi can, so it is not realistic to use the term parasite. The fungal partners are mostly Ascomycetes. Most of the rest are Basidiomycetes. As far as science has been able to discover few if any of the fungi involved can survive and reproduce in the wild on their own.