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© 2003 Center for Integrated Fungal Research. All Rights Reserved.

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'); document.writeln(''); document.writeln(''); } factsItems = new Array( 'The oldest fossil fungi are at least 545 million years old. These microscopic, aquatic forms were found in northern Russia.
' , 'Several species of Aspergillus have been used for thousands of years in Asia for the production of miso, tempeh, and soy sauce. Traditional fermentations could take several months but this has been reduced to 2-3 days in a modern plant. CIFR faculty worked closely with the Japanese for obtaining the genome sequence of A.oryzae.' , 'The fungus Aspergillus flavus produces a poison called aflatoxin on peanuts and other crops that can make people who eat these foods sick. CIFR faculty were responsible for obtaining the genome sequence of A.flavus.
' , 'Cellulase enzymes from Trichoderma reesei have replaced the pumice stones used by industry to produce ’stone-washed’ denim garments. CIFR faculty were actively involved in sequencing and interpreting the T.reesei genome.
' , 'Rhizoctonia disease of potato, often referred to as black scurf, is caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia solani and results in significant crop loss. Sclerotia, survival structures of the pathogen, give rise to the name "the dirt that doesn ’t wash off." CIFR faculty were responsible obtaining the genome sequence ofR.solani.
' , 'The rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae, annually destroys enough rice to feed over 50 million people. CIFR faculty were responsible for obtaining the genome sequence of M.oryzae.
' , 'Verticillium, a diverse genus of fungi, contains species that are responsible for plant wilt disease on strawberries and that are used as entomopathogens to control insects. CIFR faculty actively research the genetics of Verticillium species.' , 'Trichoderma reesei, which secretes a mixture of more than 50 cellulose-processing enzymes and a key industrial fungus, can be used for processing cellulostic ethanol. CIFR faculty were actively involved in sequencing and interpreting the T.reesei genome.' , 'Farmers are constantly on the lookout for Aspergillus flavus contamination of food stocks. In 2006, contaminated pet food harmed many dogs nationwide. CIFR faculty perform critical, leading edge research on A.flavus.' , 'Rhizoctonia solani, a pathogenic fungus, can cause significant loss for crops such as grains, grasses , cucumber, and potatoes. CIFR faculty were responsible for obtaining the genome sequence of R.solani.
' , 'According to archaeologists, people have been enjoying the products of fungal fermentation (wine and beer) for at least 25,000 years.
' , 'Ever seen a mushroom glow in the dark? You’re not imagining it. Species such as the Honey Mushroom produce light by a chemical reaction called bioluminescence. People once used glowing pieces of fungus-infested wood to light their way in the woods. Foxfire is due to the luminescing mycelia of fungi such as Armillaria mellea.
' , 'Fungi use antibiotics to fend off other microorganisms that compete with them for food.
' , 'Fungi, by emulating pollen grains and tubes, can trick a blueberry bush into producing sterile berries that never turn blue, but are full of fungus.' , 'The first hard evidence that diseases are caused by germs was provided when a fungus, Beauveria bassiana,was found to be killing silkworms in Europe in the early 1800s.
' , 'Throughout history people have used various mouldy concoctions to heal disease. Species of Penicillium were almost certainly the active ingredient.
' //, 'The bracket fungus Ganoderma lucidum has been used in Chinese medicine for about 4,500 years. It is said to promote long life. In 1993, Chinese women athletes set a number of new world track records. Their success was partly attributed to a tonic prepared from the fruiting bodies of a fungus that invades moth caterpillars.
' , 'When other decomposers such as bacteria shut down for the winter, fungi remain active. Their metabolic processes generate heat. Some moulds carry on growing at temperatures as low as -7 degrees C. This of course is why even refrigerated bread turns furry eventually. We need to freeze foods at temperatures of -18 degrees C or less to preserve them from fungal decay.
' , 'Spontaneous combustion! Moulds and bacteria growing together in sawdust can generate so much heat the sawdust catches fire.
' , 'It can take 50-100 years for fungi to reduce a hardwood trunk to dust.
' , 'One of the first organisms to have its genome decoded was a fungus: baker’s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in 1997. It has about 6,000 genes.
' , 'Ever wonder why air-conditioned rooms sometimes smell mouldy? Poorly maintained air-conditioners can house massive colonies of mould. Noxious gases emitted by these moulds may be the cause of "sick building syndrome."
' , 'Under the Volcano? After Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, fungi were among the first organisms to recolonize the volcano.
' , 'The active ingredient in Beano®-the wind-reducing standby of the flatulent-is an enzyme derived from the mould Aspergillus niger.
' , 'Footnote: the fungal disease, athlete’s foot only spread outside the tropics when international travel became commonplace about 100 years ago.
' //, 'A fungus forms a noose to trap nematode worms in the soil.
' , 'The fungus, Arthrobotrys oligospora, forms a noose to trap nematode worms in the soil.
' , 'Fungi can form spores that can be "fired", using water pressure, more than a meter aiming between grass blades to scatter its spores where they will be eaten by a herbivore.
' , 'Fungi have been in the recycling business for as long as plants have been around -- that’s about 400 million years.
' , 'The largest living organism on earth may be a fungus. A culture of the species Armillaria bulbosa has spread through an 86-hectare (35 acre) woodland in northern Michigan. It could be 1,500 years old.
' , 'In North America, edible European truffles (a delicious fungus) sell for more than $1,000 (US) per kilo ($450 per pound).
' , 'Some colonies of lichens are more than 4,000 years old. In the Arctic it takes a colony of some lichens 1,000 years to grow two inches.
' , 'One specimen of the common bracket fungus, Ganoderma applanatum, can produce 350,000 spores per second. That’s 30 billion spores a day and 4,500 billion in one season.
' , 'A single yeast cell averages 2-4 microns in diameter, about five times larger than most bacteria.
' , 'One scoop of horse dung may provide a home for as many as 40 species of fungi.
' , 'One expert estimates there may be as many as 1,500,000 species of fungus. So far only about 100,000 species (1 in 15) have been described. Some 10,000 of these produce the fleshy fruit bodies we call mushrooms.
' , 'More than 90 percent of all the higher plants have mycorrhizal fungi associated with their roots.
' , 'A tree may donate 10 percent of its photosynthetic products to the upkeep of the fungi partnered with its roots.
' , 'In forest soils, 90 percent of all the living matter, other than tree roots, is fungus.
' , 'Underground Networks: fungi form a mutual relationship with the roots of most plants. In the main plants seem to gain, break even or lose little on the deal. As more is learned about these networks it is becoming clear that they are highly complex and influential, perhaps having a big say on which plants thrive and which fail. If you laid out the fungal hyphae associated with the roots of a single tree, they would encircle the world several times.
' , 'Many of the fungi found in old-growth forests will not recolonize clearcut habitat for 40-50 years.
' //, 'In Canada, 30 million cubic meters (just over 1 billion cubic feet) of living wood are lost each year to trunk decay and root rot caused by fungi.
' , 'The average person consumes beverages produced by fungi on a daily basis. All the citric acid used in soft drinks, candies, artificial lemon juice, baked goods etc. is produced industrially by fungus fermentation using Aspergillus niger.
' , 'The yeast fungus (Saccharomyces cereviseae) is used in fermentation processes that result in the production of beers, wines and spirits (billions of gallons!)
' , 'The blue mould, Penicillium, is used in the ripening process to prepare speciality cheeses such as blue cheeses e.g. Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Stilton etc. and soft cheeses such as Camembert and Brie.
' , 'There are a number of important antibiotics produced industrially by fungal fermentation for use as medicines in humans and animals. These include penicillin by Penicillium chrysogenum, cephalosporin by Acremonium (=Cephalosporium), griseofulvin by Penicillium griseofulvin.
' , 'The anti-rejection drug CYCLOSPORINE, produced by the FUNGUS Tolyplocladium, is in large part responsible for the current success in organ transplants.
' , 'In agricultural soils the biomass of FUNGI is equal to about 1250 kg per hectare and equals the weight of all other groups combined. That is to say there is living stuff in the soil equal to the weight of about 50 sheep per hectare of land and half of that is FUNGUS.
' , 'Aquatic fungi colonize the leaves blown into streams and make them more palatable (nutritionally useful) to detritus feeding arthropods (such as Gammarus) that are at the base of the foodchain.
' , 'Fungi have greatly shaped the history of humankind. For example, the yeast Saccharromyces cerevisiae, has been cultured for centuries for the production of breads and alcohols.' , 'Culinary and nutritional uses along with more recent employment of fungi for the production of industrially important enzymes (laccases, cellulases, xylanases), organic acids (citric, gluconic, itaconic), antibiotics (cephalosporin, penicillin), and pharmaceuticals (cyclosporin, lovastatin, taxol) highlight our dependence on fungi.' , 'The fungus Ashbya gossypii is a source of vitamins, such as riboflavin.
' , 'The fungus Aspergillus niger makes enzymes used in laundry detergents and many other products, and for tanning leather.
' , 'The fungus Beauveria bassiana is used as a pesticide to control nuisance insects.
' , 'The yeast Candida albicans causes yeast infections.
' , 'Fusarium is a group of fungi that cause diseases in a wide range of plants.
' , 'The fungus Helminthosporium oryzae causes disease in rice and led to the Bengal famine of 1942.
' , 'The fungus Mucor circinelloides is a filamentous fungus that produces long, thread-like filaments called hyphae that can grow to amazing lengths. M. circinelloides is used in food production to convert fatty acids into natural flavoring compounds.
' , 'The fungus Penicillium notatum is the mold that launched the development of antibiotics and gave us penicillin.
' , 'The fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium degrades various hazardous waste compounds.
' , 'The fungus Puccinia chondrillina is used as a mycoherbicide to control weeds.
' , 'The fungus Stachybotrys chartarum is a type of toxin-producing fungi commonly implicated in "sick building" syndrome.
' , 'The fungus Tolypocladium inflatum gives us cyclosporine, the first drug to prevent organ rejection in transplant patients.
' , 'The fungus Trichophyton rubrum causes athlete�s foot.
' , 'The lignin-degrading or white-rot fungi such as Phanerochaete chrysosporium and Trametes versicolor could replace some of the chemical steps used in paper making.
' , 'Lignin-degrading fungi or their enzymes also have the ability to degrade highly toxic organic compounds such as dioxins and PCB’s
' , 'Many fungi have the potential for industrial use as biocontrol agents to kill insects. Spores of the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae were first used in Russia in the late 1800s as a mycoinsecticide.
' , 'Many fungi produce pigments and have potential as agents for the direct production of textile dyes or dye intermediates, replacing chemical synthesis which has inherent waste disposal problems.
' , 'Filamentous fungi grown under controlled conditions are an attractive source of the biopolymers chitin and chitosan where a high-quality product is required such as for cosmetic, medical and pharmaceutical applications.
' , 'Cultivation of edible mushrooms outdoors has been practised for hundreds if not thousands of years.
' , 'Lovastatin, the cholesteral reducing drug, was originally discoverd in the fungus Monascus purpurus (red yeast rice) and sales are know a multi billion dollar market.' ); function printRandomFact() { index = Math.floor(Math.random() * factsItems.length); document.write(factsItems[index]); }