For this discovery - The wonderful antibiotic he shared Nobel Prize in Medicine in the year along with Ernest Boris chain and Sir Howard Walter Florey. . . Milestones in Mycology P.A.Micheli conducted spore culture experiments Fontana proved that Fungi could cause disease in plants C.H.
Blackley proved fungi could cause allergy in Human beings A.F.Blakeslee reported heterothallism in fungi Pontecorvo and Roper reported Parasexual cycle The word ‘fungus’ is derived from Latin meaning ‘mushroom’. Fungi are ubiquitous, eukaryotic, achlorophyllous heterotrophic organisms. They exist in unicellular or multicellular forms. The study of fungi is called mycology.
(Gr. mykes – mushroom: logos – study). P.A. Micheli is considered as founder of Mycology.
Few renowned mycologists include Arthur H.R. Buller, John Webster, D.L.Hawksworth, G.C.Ainsworth, B.B.Mundkur, K.C.Mehta, C.V. Subramanian and T.S. Sadasivan.
E.J. Butler is the Father of Indian Mycology. He established Imperial Agricultural Research Institute at Pusa, Bihar. It was later shifted to New Delhi and at present known as Indian Agricultural Research Insitute (IARI).
He published a book, ‘Fungi and Disease in Plants’ on Indian plant diseases in the year . E.J. Butler ( - ) . .
General characteristic features • Majority of fungi are made up of thin, filamentous branched structures called hyphae. A number of hyphae get interwoven to form mycelium.The cell wall of fungi is made up of a polysaccharide called chitin (polymer of N-acetyl glucosamine) and fungal cellulose. • The fungal mycelium is categorised into two types based on the presence or absence of septa (Figure . ).
In lower fungi the hypha is aseptate, multinucleate and is known as coenocytic mycelium (Example: Albugo ). In higher fungi a septum is present between the cells of the hyphae. Example: Fusarium. Septate mycelium Coenocytic mycelium Figure .
: Types of mycelium • The mycelium is organised into loosely or compactly interwoven fungal tissues called plectenchyma . It is further divided into two types prosenchyma and pseudoparenchyma . In the former type the hyphae are arranged loosely but parallel to one another. In the latter hyphae are compactly arranged and loose their