Fungi in biotechnology
If a contest were ever held to determine the most underrepresented forms in nature, the appendages of fungal morphology, discounting the fruiting body, would steal the top ten places with ease. Despite their diversity and ubiquity, fungal forms are scarce outside of taxonomic literature. Ask a child to sketch a plant, bacterial cell or plankton and you will likely be handed a close, if slightly confused representation of those forms. Ask a child to draw a fungal cell or any part of a fungus that isn’t capped and gilled and you’ll receive only blank expressions.
While undertaking the modern iteration of taxonomic work i.e. documenting function, not form, I decided to do my part in amending this unforgivable absence of fungal forms from general appreciation. Not wanting to stray too far from the nest, I created a series of posters that celebrate fungi as engines of biological activity currently being exploited in biotechnology and the spectacular contributions they make to the roster of complex forms and intricate matrices found in nature.
Fungi In Biotechnology
Fungi In Biotechnology
Cladosporium oxysporum: Phylum - Ascomycota, Order - Cladosporiales, Genus - Cladosporium. This rust, hyperparasite and saprotrophic fungi is a biocontrol agent used to control diseases in trees, degrade organic compounds in polluted sites and process organic matter in tropical and subtropical regions. It has expressed remarkable applicability to projects of environmental restoration and remediation. Irpex lacteus: Phylum - Basidiomycota, Order - Polyporales, Genus - Irpex. This common crust fungus is typically found in temperate climates growing on the underside of fallen deciduous trees, although it has been known to grow on conifers too. The name Irpex means 'a large rake with iron teeth and lacteus 'milky'. This fungus produces an assortment of lingocellulosic enzyme that make it well suited to the conversion of biomass waste into useful byproducts and the degradation of recalcitrant compounds. Rhizopus oryzae: Division - Mucoromycota, Order - Mucorales, Genus - Rhizopus. This dung and debris inhabiting saprotrophic fungus is an affluent producer of power enzymes. It is able to use sugars derived from biomass to produce ethanol, lactic and fumaric acids in large quantities. It produces a lipase which has application in the energy, food and pharmaceutical sectors.