Friendly fungi announce themselves to their hosts

For many years after discovering a diverse population of sometimes dangerous microbes constantly living in our intestines, scientists described the situation as a form of living with the enemy. But when it comes to commensal ...

The origins of farming insects

A beetle bores a tree trunk to build a gallery in the wood in order to protect its lay. As it digs the tunnel, it spreads ambrosia fungal spores that will feed the larvae. When these bore another tree, the adult beetles will ...

New database reveals plants' secret relationships with fungi

Leiden researchers have compiled information collected by scientists over the past 120 years into a database of plant-fungal interactions. This important biological data is now freely available for researchers and nature ...

Fungal diversity and its relationship to the future of forests

If you indulge in truffles, or porcini and chanterelle mushrooms, you have enjoyed a product of ectomycorrhizal fungi. Forming symbiotic relationships with plants—including pine, birch, oak and willow tree species—these ...

Dead trees are alive with fungi

Little research has been conducted to date on fungi that live on dead trees, although they are vital to forest ecology, breaking down dead wood and completing the elemental cycle between plants and soil. Soil biologists from ...

Ancient fungi could help Canada's future northern forests

As Canada's vast boreal and tundra ecosystems experience dramatic warming due to climate change, trees are rapidly spreading north. New research from UBC's Okanagan Campus suggests some of these trees could be getting help ...

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