Fungi appear in the news with surprising frequency. However, many of those stories do not provide any new information. Below is a summary of what we’ve learned about fungi from November 2016 Through February 2017. Read below to learn about: bacteria-fungal interactions, snake fungal disease, psilocybin research, fungal furniture, white-nose syndrome, intelligent slime molds and more! Visit the associated links to get the full story.
Fungi appear in the news with surprising frequency. However, many of those stories do not provide any new information. Below is a summary of what we’ve learned about fungi from November 2016 Through February 2017. Read below to learn about: two-fungi lichens, the fate of bananas, battery recycyling, Crohn’s disease, orcas, human pathogenic fungi, and more! Visit the associated links to get the full story.
Histoplasmosis is a fungal disease caused by the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. Like the other true human fungal pathogens, H. capsulatum lives as a mold in the environment but switches to an infective yeast form in the body. In nature, H. capsulatum grows on bird or bat droppings. This fungus is very common, especially in the Ohio and Mississippi River valley areas. However, H. capsulatum very rarely causes disease. As with most fungal diseases, people with a weakened immune system are most at risk of acquiring histoplasmosis.
Coccidioidomycosis, otherwise known as “Valley fever,” is the most virulent human fungal pathogen. The disease is caused by the fungi Coccidioides immitis and C. posadasii, which normally live in arid soils. When they are disturbed by wind, construction, or human activity, spores from these fungi can become airborne and end up in peoples’ lungs. There, the spores germinate and can cause infection. Most of the time, the infection is mild and does not need to be treated. Occasionally, however, this progresses to more severe forms that sometimes require lifelong treatment. As with other human fungal diseases, Valley fever is more likely to cause severe disease in people with weakened immune systems.
In opportunistic fungal infections (FFF#161), fungi behave as they normally do, without drastically changing their cell structure or physiology. On the other hand, true fungal pathogens of animals can grow as both yeasts and hyphae. The fungus Candida albicans is somewhere in between these two groups. It normally inhabits healthy skin but can cause infection in people with a weakened immune system. In fact, it is one of the most virulent opportunistic pathogens. However, C. albicans can grow both as a yeast and as hyphae, making it morphologically more similar to true pathogenic fungi. C. albicans causes some of the most common fungal diseases, including: thrush, “yeast infections,” and invasive candidiasis.
This October, I will be discussing human fungal infections. Although fungi can be extremely problematic for certain species of animals and plants, fungi cause humans relatively few problems. There are roughly 300 species of fungi that cause disease in humans, but the most common ones cause nuisance infections of the skin. About 20-25% of the global population has a fungal skin infection like ringworm, athlete’s foot, and similar diseases. Although annoying, these infections are not very severe. There are a few fungi that cause more severe diseases, but these are much less common. The most dangerous type of fungal infections are the opportunistic infections. These are caused by normally benign fungi that take advantage of unusual conditions, such as when a patient has a weakened immune system.
Fungi appear in the news with surprising frequency. However, many of those stories do not provide any new information. Below is a summary of what we’ve learned about fungi from November 2016 Through February 2017. Read below to learn about: mycorrhizas, A. bisporus engineering, fungal evolution, psilocybin research, fungal concerns in medicine, rock-eating fungi, and more! Visit the associated links to get the full story.
Phellinus igniarius is probably the most dangerous regularly-consumed mushroom. By itself, the mushroom is pretty much useless. However, many Native American groups discovered that the ashes of igniarius will increase the buzz of chewing tobacco. Today, this practice is particularly widespread among Native Alaskans. Despite attempts by health agencies to discourage this practice, usage rates are still above 50%.
This edible mushroom has a few common names, including: “Hen of the Woods,” “Sheepshead,” and “” It is parasitic on hardwood tree roots, so look for this mushroom around the bases of hardwoods (especially oaks and maples) in the fall.
In addition to the eight common types of mushroom toxins, mushrooms produce a number of other compounds that are toxic to humans. The North American Mycological Association lists eight of these less common toxins/syndromes. Many of these are limited to a few, closely-related species and are therefore not as frequently observed as the eight types described previously.
![#011: Characteristics of Kingdom Fungi [Archived]](https://www.fungusfactfriday.com/wp-content/themes/hueman/assets/front/img/thumb-small-empty.png)
