Fungal Biology is the fully updated new edition of this undergraduate text, covering all major areas of fungal biology and providing insights into many topical areas such as:
- fungal ultrastructure and the mechanisms of fungal growth
- important fungal metabolites, including antibiotics, mycotoxins and immunosuppressants
- the molecular techniques used to study fungal populations
- fungal genetics and fungal genomes
- the significance of fungi in mutualistic and pathogenic interactions
- the major methods for controlling fungi, including the fungi that cause diseases of humans and the antifungal drugs used to treat these infections
This edition also focuses on the interactions of fungi that form the basis for developing biological control agents, with several commercial examples of the control of insect pests and plant diseases.
The text is illustrated with many diagrams and tables that summarize key points, and with many high-quality images (available in colour on an accompanying website and for instructors on CD-ROM).
The emphasis throughout is on the functional biology of fungi, with several examples from recent research. The book also includes a clear illustrative account of the features and significance of the main fungal groups.
Preface 1 Introduction: the fungi and fungal activities 2 The diversity of fungi and fungus-like organisms 3 Fungal structure and ultrastructure 4 Fungal growth 5 Differentiation and development 6 Fungal nutrition 7 Fungal metabolism and fungal products 8 Environmental conditions for growth, and tolerance of extremes 9 Fungal genetics, molecular genetics, and genomics 10 Fungal spores, spore dormancy, and spore dispersal 11 Fungal ecology: saprotrophs 12 Fungal interactions: mechanisms and practical exploitation 13 Fungal symbiosis 14 Fungi as plant pathogens 15 Fungal parasites of insects and nematodes 16 "The moulds of man" 17 Principles and practice of controlling fungal growth Systematic Index General Index
Jim Deacon is Senior Lecturer in Microbiology at the University of Edinburgh, and has 35 years of teaching experience in the field of plant-microbe-fungal interactions. He has published over 100 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, been an invited keynote speaker at international symposia and congresses around the world, and acted as consultant to biotechnology companies.
It is the best textbook available for a comprehensive view of the fungi and their importance to the human condition. Robert Roberson, Arizona State University "...fully updated and expanded, and can still (or even better now) serve as an excellent textbook for students." Persoonia, June 2006 "My very positive impression of this book has prompted me to prescribe it as the text for the undergraduate mycology paper at the University of Otago. I think the book will inspire students by giving them an appreciation of the wide scope of experimental mycology, and I would thoroughly recommend it to readers who want a thorough expose of the wonderful world of fungi." New Zealand Journal of Botany