Yeasts and filamentous fungi need to cope with stress, whether growing in the laboratory or in the natural environment, whether victims or offenders in interactions with other organisms. These considerations are discussed in this volume that coveres stress in the broad sense, within the context of mycology.

* Includes discussions of the stresses associated with organism-organism interactions and stress under controlled conditions
* Anthropogenic stress towards fungi in the environment and the impacts that such stressors may have on different organisms and communities in the wild are...

The breadth and depth of understanding of many areas concerning basidiomycetes has increased dramatically since the premier publication of Frankland et al., Decomposer Basidiomycetes: their Biology and Ecology. New vistas have opened up with the advent of powerful computing, modeling and molecular approaches helping to greatly increase the general understanding of the ecology of basidiomycetes. This is tantamount to understanding the role of fungi in natural ecosystems because they are major agents of decomposition and nutrient cycling. These remarkable advances have been incorporated into...

Bioremediation research has concentrated on organic pollutants, although the range of substances that can be transformed or detoxified by microorganisms includes both natural and synthetic organic materials and inorganic pollutants. The majority of applications developed to date involve bacteria, with a distinct lack of appreciation of the potential roles and involvement of fungi in bioremediation, despite clear evidence of their metabolic and morphological versatility. This book highlights the potential of filamentous fungi, including mycorrhizas, in bioremediation and discusses the...

Fungi play important roles in the cycling of elements in the biosphere but are frequently neglected within microbiological and geochemical research spheres. Symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi are responsible for major transformations and redistribution of inorganic nutrients, while free-living fungi have major roles in the decomposition of organic materials, including xenobiotics. Fungi are also major biodeterioration agents of stone, wood, plaster, cement and other building materials, and are important components of rock-inhabiting microbial communities. The aim of this book is to promote further...

Based on a British Mycological Society Symposium held in September 1988, this book provides a timely review of the increasingly diverse ways in which fungi are being used to improve plant growth and examines the reasons for the rapid advancement in their commercialization. Reflecting the increasing interest in biocontrol, a significant proportion of the book considers fungi as biocontrol agents, examining their specific use in the control of weeds, parasitic insects, nematodes, and plant pathogenic fungi, as well as covering more general commercial and environmental aspects. Relevant...

This book addresses the challenge that the exceptional diversity of tropical fungi present to taxonomists, biochemists, molecular biologists, ecologists, and pathologists. The significance of the many tropical species and ectomycorrhizal associations in nutrient cycling in rainforests, desert ecosystems and aquatic habitats is considered, together with an evaluation of the potential of such fungi in the production of commercially useful, novel metabolites.

Fungi are among the simplest of eukaryotes. Their study has provided useful paradigms for processes that are fundamental to the way in which higher cells grow, divide, establish form and shape, and communicate with one another. The majority of work has been carried out on the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but in nature unicellular fungi are greatly outnumbered by filamentous forms for which our knowledge is much less well developed. This volume focuses on the analysis of the filamentous life style, particularly on the hyphae that constitute the fungal mycelial colony. This book...

Bioremediation research has concentrated on organic pollutants, although the range of substances that can be transformed or detoxified by microorganisms includes both natural and synthetic organic materials and inorganic pollutants. The majority of applications developed to date involve bacteria, with a distinct lack of appreciation of the potential roles and involvement of fungi in bioremediation, despite clear evidence of their metabolic and morphological versatility. This book highlights the potential of filamentous fungi, including mycorrhizas, in bioremediation and discusses the...

This volume concerns the breakdown of dead organic materials by the basidiomycetes or toadstools, one of the three major groups of fungi. Although the decomposer members of this group are ecologically and commercially of immense importance, this is the first symposium to focus on them. Various aspects of the taxonomy, sporulation, growth, enzyme activity and genetics of the organisms are discussed first. The roles of basidiomycetes in the nutrient cycles and energy flow of terrestrial and aquatic habitats and their activities as aggressive rotters of trees, outdoor and indoor timber and plant...

Despite an upsurge in national and international debate on environmental issues since the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, fungi, vital to the functioning of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, are rarely mentioned. This volume helps redress this imbalance by considering fungi in the context of the impact of humankind's activity on their habitats. The presentation of experimental evidence is a major feature of the volume. Contributions on the effects of global warming, UV-B radiation, atmospheric and terrestrial pollutants, deforestation in the tropics, loss of biodiversity, genetic...