Dr. Galambos István: A Bakony természeti képe 4. - Gombák a Bakonyban (Ismeretterjesztő kiadványok; Zirc, 2006)

Angol nyelvű összefoglaló

Many fungi are important as partners in symbiotic relationships with other organisms, as mutualists, parasites, or commensalists, as well as in symbiotic relationships that do not fall neatly into any of these categories. One of the most critically important of these relationships are various types of mycorrhiza, which is a kind of mutualistic relationship between fungi and plants, in which the plant's roots are closely associated with fungal hyphae and other structures. The plant donates to the fungus sugars and other carbohydrates that it manufactures from photosynthesis, while the fungus donates water and mineral nutrients that the hyphal network is able to find much more efficiently than the plant roots alone can, particularly phosphorus. The fungi also protect against diseases and pathogens and provide other benefits to the plant. Recently, plants have been found to use mycorrhizas to deliver carbohydrates and other nutrients to other plants in the same community and in some cases can make plant species that would normally exclude each other able to coexist in the same plant community. Such mycorrhizal communities are called "common mycorrhizal networks". Lichens are formed by a symbiotic relationship between algae or cyanobacteria (referred to in lichens as "photobionts") and fungi (mostly ascomycetes of various kinds and a few basidiomycetes), in which individual photobiont cells are embedded in a complex of fungal tissue. As in mycorrhizas, the photobiont provides sugars and other carbohydrates while the fungus provides minerals and water. The functions of both symbiotic organisms are so closely intertwined that they function almost as a single organism. Some fungi are parasites on plants, animals (including humans), and even other fungi. Pathogenic fungi are responsible for numerous diseases, such as athlete's foot and ringworm in humans. Some fungi are predators of nematodes, which they capture using an array of devices such as constricting rings or adhesive nets. Fungi have a long history of use by humans. Many types of mushrooms and other fungi are eaten. Many species of mushrooms are poisonous and are responsible for numerous cases of sickness and death every year. A type of single-celled fungus called yeast is used in baking bread and fermenting alcoholic beverages. Fungi are also used to produce industrial chemicals like lactic acid, antibiotics and even to make stonewashed jeans.