One of the largest terrestrial living organisms, an Armillaria ostoyae specimen dubbed the ‘Humongous Fungus’, covers almost 9 kilometres and weighs 544 tonnes. Armillaria fungi live mostly underground, which gives them the needed space to grow to epic proportions. A team of scientists set out to pinpoint the genetic mechanism that allows this fungus group to grow. They sequenced […]
Tag: fungus
A tale of good fungus, bad fungus
Researchers have found a new source for a fungus-fighting chemical: the pine trees and blueberry bushes of the Acadian forest. Griseofulvin is a compound originally isolated from a mould in the same family as those which produce penicillin. It’s used to fight fungal infections in humans and animals, but has also been used as a fungicide […]
Fungal extract could combat drug-resistant bacteria
A chemical extracted from a fungus could help maintain the effectiveness of key antibiotics. In a new study, a fungal extract called aspergillomarasmine A was shown to inhibit NDM-1 and restore the effectiveness of carbapenems against certain bacteria in lab studies. Carbapenems are considered to be ‘antibiotics of last resort’ for many infections due to […]
Will a deadly fungus wipe out frogs in your area?
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is a fungus that causes a deadly skin disease in frogs and other amphibians, and is one of the factors contributing to the global decline of amphibians. A new mathematical model shows that the reproduction quotient – that is, the average number of new spores produced by an initial spore over its lifetime […]
