Essential Fungal Genetics

Through their teaching and research in fungal genetics at the University of Manchester (UK), Moore and Frazer are well qualified to write this book. Their goal is to integrate fungal genetics into current teaching by complementing major textbooks used in courses in general genetics, general organismal biology, and general mycology. This book differs from others on fungal genetics in that the examples chosen to illustrate various features tend to favour basidiomycetes and the less-often referenced fungi. To maintain a readable style of presentation, the authors have omitted reference citations in the text. Important references are listed at the end of each chapter, with emphasis on review articles and Web sites. Ten chapters treat important aspects including genome interactions, wild types and mutants, segregation genetics, recombination analysis, mechanisms of recombination, the physical genotype, mapping the fungal genome, fungal phylogeny and evolution, and fungal differentiation and morphogenesis. This book will serve as a comprehensive resource for courses in fungal genetics and will be useful for upper-division undergraduate and graduate students as well as professionals in molecular fungal biology, mycology, plant pathology, microbiology, medical mycology and other disciplines in which fungi have an important role. R. L. Gilbertson, emeritus, University of Arizona; from ChoiceReviews.online at www.choicereviews.org © American Library Association.

The publication of a general text devoted entirely to fungal genetics is a welcome, but not common event. Publication at this time has allowed the authors to cover traditional genetics, such as mutation and recombination, while including the latest molecular biology. The book contains a wealth of useful information ... the text has many diagrams ... Starting each chapter is an extensive list of ‘revision concepts’ ... The text is not directly referenced, but lists of publications and websites ‘worth a visit’ or ‘worth knowing about’ are given at the end of each chapter ... this is a valuable contribution on these fascinating and important organisms. Roger Marchant, University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland; appeared in Microbiology Today (quarterly magazine of the Society for General Microbiology), volume 30, page 91, May 2003.

The authors have undoubtedly succeeded in their main aim of producing a readable yet challenging text which will appeal to keen undergraduates and their teachers alike. In particular, the inclusion of both classical and molecular techniques together makes for a satisfying read. Each chapter is organised logically and carefully leads the reader through, at times, complex ideas. I found the figures and tables particularly useful ... the inclusion of revision notes does suggest a target group of undergraduates ... this is a valuable addition to the literature which I will certainly recommend as a reference source for our final year undergraduates studying fungal genetics. Paul Hooley, School of Applied Sciences, University of Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV1 1SB, UK. Review in Mycological Research (2002) vol. 106, p. 1488.

Extracts from published reviews of Moore, D. & Novak Frazer, L. (2002). Essential Fungal Genetics. New York: Springer-Verlag. ISBN-10: 0-387-95367-1, ISBN13: 978–0387953670. Softcover ISBN13: 978-1441929747. URL: http://springerlink.com/content/978-0-387-95367-0.

21st Century Guidebook to Fungi

A modern mycological textbook for use in advanced university courses has been much needed, as there have already been so many advances in our understanding of their genetics, development, and relationships this century. This book grew out of courses the authors have taught at the University of Manchester for many years. It aims to capture the excitement, and present a new look, of fungi as they are now understood in a “systems biology” framework, emphasising interactions with other organisms, adopting an integrated rather than a reductionist approach, utilising modelling and bioinformatics when appropriate - and enhancing accessibility by an accompanying CD not just with the entire text, but also hyperlinks to both key websites and cited references ... there is an Appendix which includes descriptions down to order with example genera indicated. The coverage of uses of fungi is particularly extensive and informative, and also well-illustrated ... A major innovation and “plus” for this work is the CD. The imbedded hyperlinks are not just to an extraordinary number of websites, but to all cited original papers with DOI numbers ... I was most impressed by the speed at which links were made ... a click on a book title or chapter can take you directly to the publisher’s sales page. Those fortunate to be located at institutions with electronic subscriptions to journals that are not open access, however, will quickly reach the full-texts. This ability to link students directly from a textbook to primary research papers is really exciting and sure to enthuse ... I particularly liked the line drawings incorporating colour explaining ultrastructural and developmental features. The quality of the colour photographs on the CD is superb … a second Appendix … provides a splendid account of the terminology of mycological structures from mycelia to sporophores, and including conidiogenesis patterns, and types of asci, basidia, hyphae, sporophores, and tissues … There can be no doubt, however, that this will be great as a main text for mycology courses at advanced degree and masters levels, and also a valuable sourcebook for up-to-date information on diverse aspects for the subject. The authors can be proud of this achievement, which has the potential to enthuse and inspire a new generation of experimental mycologists. I cannot commend it too highly, and am recommending on the postgraduate courses to which I contribute. David L. Hawksworth; from IMA Fungus, Volume 3 No.1 April/May, 2012.

'Mycology is often seen as a relatively small specialist discipline; however, this expansive treatment of the subject reaches the parts that other textbooks fail to reach, even putting fungi in the context of the cosmos! This interactive textbook will make a valuable contribution to modernising fungal science education, providing a platform for 21st century mycology teaching in universities and colleges.' Dr Alison M. Ashby, University of Cambridge.

'The 21st Century Guidebook to Fungi is a game changer. It will provide the current techno savvy generation of students with a format that matches their learning style. The information is extensive and accessibly presented and the links provide students with tools to improve their critical thinking and lifelong learning skills. I will use it in a large class format with students at a wide range of levels. Thank you for your hard work in producing this truly superior product.' Scott E. Gold, University of Georgia, USA.

'This book will be very useful to all industrial microbiologists. The 21st Century Guidebook to Fungi manages to combine classical mycology with advances in molecular phylogeny, and also covers recent advances in a whole host of other topics. The writing is crisp and concise. In particular, the layout is very well thought out. A wonderful starting point for anyone involved in working with fungi.' Dr Mark Loftus, L. F. Lambert Spawn Co.

'The idea of integrating both a CD-ROM and a book makes this very timely, and a powerful educational tool for use at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. The key aspects of mycology are comprehensively covered with excellent diagrams, figures and images to help the educational process.' Professor Naresh Magan, Cranfield University.

'Fungi are significant things: without them, there would be no grasslands and forests and humans would never have evolved. The 21st Century Guidebook to Fungi introduces students to the vast sweep of fungal biology and does an admirable job of explaining what these fascinating organisms are, how they work, and what they do.' Nicholas P. Money, Miami University, Ohio, USA.

'Fungi are exciting organisms to study but they are often the preserve of the specialist. That's all changed with the production of this book. Moore, Robson and Trinci have now made fungi accessible to everyone with interesting comments, explanatory figures, clear illustrations and personal observations. Even if you are not a student of physiology or genetics the book is reader friendly such that you can pick the book up and choose a chapter. For those, amateur or student, who want to learn more about fungi this is your text; even the professional will find it of great use in refreshing the memory and I am sure will pick up a few tricks in doing so.' Professor Roy Watling MBE, FRSE, Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh.

Amazon customer review 27 Nov 2012: Very detailed book, very interesting. Great book with very in depth information about fungal biology and all aspects. Also great diagrams and useful pictures with example case studies. Not a mycologist but very interested, I found all matters are well explained with diagrams and very understandable. This 5-star review is by Rob - Amazon verified Purchase.

Extracts from published reviews of Moore, D., Robson, G. D. & Trinci, A. P. J. (2011). 21st Century Guidebook to Fungi. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 9780521186957. URL: http://www.cambridge.org/gb/knowledge/isbn/item6026594/?site_locale=en_GB. View Amazon page.

Slayers, Saviors, Servants and Sex. An exposé of Kingdom Fungi

Fungi are important. This is the central message of Moore's book and one that he illustrates with numerous examples. Fungal diseases kill humans, kill crops and rot harvested foods. In describing the spectacular epidemics and diseases caused by fungi the book is compelling. The symptoms of St Anthony's fire, for example, are given in grisly detail: burning fevers, hallucinations, swollen limbs, severe inflammation followed by numbing of the extremities and complete loss of fingers, toes, arms and legs. All are caused by the ergot fungus Claviceps purpurea, consumed in contaminated rye bread. One outbreak of the disease reputedly killed 40,000 people in France in AD 944, and ergotism has even been suggested to have been the cause of symptoms that took hold of eight young girls in Salem and led to the witch trials of 1692. This story, and the production of potent toxins such as amanitin and aflatoxin, are used to demonstrate that fungi demand our respect.

The beneficial applications of fungi, from gastronomy to bioremediation, are given equal coverage. Fungi are, of course, well known as producers of antibiotics, and the story of the discovery of penicillin has been told many times. But our modern dependence on antibiotics is poignantly illustrated here by the story of Albert Alexander, a British policeman who died in 1941 after being scratched by a rose thorn. Initial treatment with the newly available penicillin made him well enough to sit up in bed, but he quickly succumbed to his infected wound once supplies of the drug ran out. The discovery and application of the immunosuppressant cyclosporin, and the best-selling cholesterol-lowering agents, the statins - both natural fungal products - are similarly well described.

Although relatively light-hearted and anecdotal in style, there is a serious underlying theme throughout the book, because David Moore is clearly not a happy man. He is unhappy that fungi are viewed only as curiosities and consequently occupy, in his view, the peripheries of mainstream science. Ignored by biology departments pensioning off mycologists, by funding agencies, simplistic politicians and international development bodies, fungi offer tremendous untapped potential but are constantly overlooked. Having devoted a career to their study, Moore wants us to know he is annoyed. He also describes the history of mycology as littered with the 'nearly' men of science: the Reverend Miles J. Berkeley, who studied the origin of the potato-blight epidemic and anticipated the germ theory of Louis Pasteur by almost 25 years, but did not prove his case; and Agostino Bassi who, similarly, recognised fungi as agents of disease at an even earlier date. …

I would recommend this book particularly to those who know, or currently care, little about fungi. They will learn a lot in this easy read, and they can even try the anagrams at the back of the book. Here I learned that 'fantastic ugly mess' is an anagram of 'fungal systematics', which should upset the taxonomists. Nicholas J. Talbot; School of Biological Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK; in Nature 414, 252 - 253 (2001) © Macmillan Publishers Ltd.

Extracts of a review of Moore, D. (2000). Slayers, Saviors, Servants and Sex. An exposé of Kingdom Fungi. New York: Springer-Verlag. ISBN-10: 0387951016, ISBN-13: 9780387951010. URL: http://www.springer.com/life+sciences/microbiology/book/978-0-387-95098-3.

Fungal Biology in the Origin and Emergence of Life

The rhythm of life on Earth includes several strong themes contributed by Kingdom Fungi. So why are fungi ignored when theorists ponder the origin of life? Casting aside common theories that life originated in an oceanic primeval soup, in a deep, hot place, or even a warm little pond, this is a mycological perspective on the emergence of life on Earth. The author traces the crucial role played by the first biofilms – products of aerosols, storms, volcanic plumes and rainout from a turbulent atmosphere – which formed in volcanic caves 4 billion years ago. Moore describes how these biofilms contributed to the formation of the first prokaryotic cells, and later, unicellular stem eukaryotes, highlighting the role of the fungal grade of organisation in the evolution of higher organisms. Based on the latest research, this is a unique account of the origin of life and its evolutionary diversity to the present day.

• Proposes a new and unique view of the origin and evolution of life on Earth, weaving the evolution of fungi into the evolution of eukaryotes
• Explains the origins of all groups of higher organisms (eukaryotes), showing how the features of present-day fungi can account for the ancestral evolution of the eukaryote grade of evolution
• Emphasises twenty-first-century research in disciplines ranging from astronomy to zoology, providing readers with the most complete and contemporary treatment of the topic.

Review: '... Fungi and animals share a deep Precambrian root from which our unicellular ancestors diverged more than one billion years ago. This common beginning is evident when we look at similarities between fungus and animal at the level of genes and proteins, as well as the grander disjunction between both groups of eukaryotes and every other form of life on earth. Mycologist David Moore details the evolutionary history of the fungi in his new book and its relationship to the origins and subsequent development of life on land. This rich and compelling story provides a crucial mycological perspective on some of the biggest questions in modern biology.' Nicholas Money, Professor of Botany, Miami University of Ohio, Oxford, Ohio, USA.

Review: 'In a wonderful introduction to this wide and exciting subject, and ensuring accessibility to non-specialist readers, key features of fungal biology are introduced, as is current thinking on the beginnings of the solar system, the formation of the earth and its moon, and the possible origins of the building blocks of life, including panspermia, the ET origin of life on earth.
Central in this thought provoking book is a consideration of the definition of what is life, from the philosophical to the rigidly scientific. This definition is key to deciding on what was LUCA, the last universal common ancestor. Current views on this are well reviewed, critically analysed and dissected.
The crux of this book is the argument that the Eukaryotic last common ancestor (ELCA) was a fungus like organism, a simple Chytrid fungus living with an absorptive nutrition in biofilms in warm, wet, ... environments. Arguments for this and against other current theories are well put, persuasive, and supported by the fossil record. The most exciting image conjured in the final chapters is that of Prototaxites, a giant terrestrial fungus, eight metres tall, dominating the landscapes, an echo of Wyndham's triffids.
A fascinating read, a myco-centric version of the origin of the eukaryotes, firmly dismissing the animal biased theories.' Dr Jane Nicklin, Department of Biological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London.

Moore, D. (2013). Fungal Biology in the Origin and Emergence of Life. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 230 pp. ISBN-10: 1107652774, ISBN-13: 978-1107652774. Visit the publisher’s website, and/or the Amazon page.