Life on Earth is represented by myriads of all kinds of plants and animals, which differ significantly depending on living conditions and origin. But there are creatures that are so unlike the usual forms of life that they can not be attributed to either plants or animals. These amazing, as if organisms arrived to us from another planet, are called mushrooms. Mycology is the science that studies them. Mycologists collect and systematize information about various types of mushrooms, which currently number more than 100 thousand. These are only varieties known to science, there is an opinion that in reality the variety of mushroom culture is much wider, and the current knowledge about them is only a drop in the bucket.
The ubiquitous colonizers
If you think that mushrooms are distant forest inhabitants, occasionally sprouting in the city, then you are mistaken. The air is literally teeming with fungal spores, especially in summer. These organisms are everywhere, they surround us everywhere, but their presence is not easy to notice. After all, the fungus is the mycelium itself, and not the fruiting bodies, as most people mistakenly believe.
Fruit bodies are needed for the spread of fungal culture, so their size and shape are very diverse, indicating the amazing ability of these organisms to adapt to any conditions.
First steps
How is a new mycelium born? It all starts with microscopic spores that are carried by the wind or animals. They can be in a dormant state for a sufficiently long time until favorable conditions for their germination appear. After this, each spore begins to produce threads that subsequently form a mycelium. To do this, you need a substrate, that is, a nutrient medium suitable for a particular type of mushroom. As the substrate is eaten, the mycelium grows, mastering more and more new territories, while the old mycelium gradually dies. Some specimens may have a length of more than a kilometer. This makes mushrooms the largest living creature on Earth.
Fruiting
The mushroom picker, no matter how strong it may be, cannot grow indefinitely. Therefore, at a certain point, it releases fruiting bodies with spores that will spawn new mushrooms. Mycology studies all the growth stages of these amazing organisms. It is thanks to this science that we know so much about these incredible creatures. Thus, studies of mycologists have revealed that when conditions become optimal, the mycelium begins to bear fruit, releasing fruiting bodies.
The fruiting bodies of mushrooms are seriously different from each other both in shape and in size. Moreover, they can vary significantly even among representatives of the same species, depending on the growing conditions. Over time, when the fruit body is fully formed, the mushroom's head opens, releasing millions of microscopic spores into the air, each of which can become a new mycelium.
Mushroom variety
Mycology is a fairly young science, but the data collected by its hardworking adherents are simply amazing. It turns out that these organisms can absorb a wide variety of substrate types. For example, some types of mushrooms grow well on the corpses of animals or on their excrement. Others prefer plant foods, and some species are generally predators.
The latter live in soil and prey on microscopic worms called nematodes. They release small rings from the mycelium, which reliably fix the victim when it falls into one of these rings. There are also mushrooms that prefer insect food. They literally devour alive miserable insects alive from the inside, in order to then throw the spores out of their victim’s empty body. There are known cases of successful control of the Colorado potato beetle by means of carnivorous fungi.
Microscopic mushrooms
Of course, it’s hard not to notice a large, majestic mushroom that proudly rises above the ground. But, most species have much more modest dimensions. Everyone knows mold and other miniature representatives of the mushroom kingdom. These microscopic colonizers will never miss a chance. As soon as the spores reach a suitable substrate, the process of overgrowing immediately begins.
But disputes surround us everywhere, even in Antarctica, the air contains a certain amount of them. Particular attention is paid to microscopic fungi medical mycology. As you know, the first antibiotic penicillin was obtained from miniature fungi, like many subsequent antibiotics and drugs. Only in recent years, in order to reduce the risk of allergic reactions and reduce the cost of production, they began to create synthetic antibiotics.
Application in the food industry
Mushrooms can be a decoration on any table. Even the most sophisticated gourmets appreciate the fruit bodies of mushrooms for their special, unlike anything else's taste. The huge variety of these organisms opens up wide scope for culinary creativity. But the use of mushrooms in the food industry is not limited to the banal eating of their fruiting bodies.
Oddly enough, most of the products offered by supermarkets contain mushrooms. For example, one cannot fail to mention yeast - one of the most popular ingredients in the food industry. Even fruit juices contain a certain amount of microscopic mushrooms, if the package has the inscription "brightened". So it is safe to say that these organisms are very firmly established in our lives, without bothering to notify most of us. Therefore, mycology is one of the most important branches of modern science, capable of giving the world many more wonderful discoveries.
Industrial cultivation
It would seem that since mushrooms are so useful for people, why not grow them everywhere? But not so simple. The vast majority of mushrooms refuse to grow on mushroom farms. The fact is that in the natural environment these organisms have a lot of symbiotic bonds, without which their existence is impossible. Therefore, the inhabitants have to be content with the usual oyster mushrooms and champignons. Those who expect more variety will have to go to the forest and collect delicious mushroom fruits on their own.
However, even those mushrooms that are able to grow in greenhouses, growing is not so simple. The fact is that the mushroom world is full of competition - millions of spores fly in the air, waiting in the wings. Mycology is an industry that requires maximum sterility. Therefore, before infecting the nutrient substrate with spores of the desired fungi, you must make sure that the air in the room is sterile. In addition, a thorough sterilization of the instruments involved in the process will be required, and even the clothes of the person conducting the infection must be thoroughly sterilized. Only in this way can one be sure that exactly what is needed will grow.
Research Institute of Mycology named after Kashkina
This impressive complex, created for an in-depth study of the science of mushrooms, is the only institution of its kind in all of Russia. It uses the latest equipment to effectively diagnose mycosis and then resist it. The research center is named in honor of the person to whom modern mycology owes a lot - Pavel Nikolayevich Kashkin. It was he who in 1982 founded the first mycological center.
As it turned out, microscopic fungi are the causative agents of many diseases, at first glance completely unrelated to them. In addition to mycologists, in the scientific center. Kashkina has a team of immunologists, gastroenterologists, endocrinologists, urologists and other specialists. Thanks to the joint efforts of workers in medicine and mycology, the effectiveness of the treatment of ailments is very high. On the example of this wonderful institution, you can understand how useful mycology for society. Santiago de Cuba, 1/28 - this is the address of the Research Institute. Kashkina in St. Petersburg.
The future of mycology
Of course, the science that studies mushrooms has a great future. After all, these organisms spread throughout the planet, colonized almost its entire surface. A happy future can only be built in collaboration with these amazing creatures. Not only do people depend on mushrooms, most plants could not survive without their help. About 80% of the flora on Earth exists due to mycorrhiza - symbiosis with mushrooms. Our planet has become what we know it, precisely thanks to the efforts of these desperate colonialists.
People understand how important mushrooms are. Therefore, new research institutes of mycology are being created, thousands of scientists are working on the study of this industry. The contribution of mushroom science to medicine and the food industry is invaluable. Mushrooms help shamans and sorcerers carry out their mysterious rituals, and healers heal diseases with their help. The results of centuries-old collaboration of mushrooms and people have turned into a scientific discipline - mycology. There is every reason to believe that a bright future awaits this young science.