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Some
facts and figures:
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Fungi can be isolated from virtually any place on earth, from the
tropics to the poles and from the mountain tops to the deep oceans.
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The fungi Kingdom probably contains over 1.5
million species according to Hawksworth, 1991.
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Although these organisms have been studied for almost a century, the
number of fungal species
already described remains insignificant (80,000-90,000 species).
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Many of these described species are available only as dead herbarium
material and have not been
isolated into pure cultures.
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Geographic location, climatic condition, micro-habitat,
substrate type, fauna and flora distribution are all important factors
contributing to fungal distribution around the world.
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Relatively few countries, habitats and substrate
types have been well explored for novel fungi discovery.
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Unlike other microorganism groups (e.g. Actinomycetes or Bacteria),
automated isolation techniques for fungi are not yet possible because of the extreme
diversity in fungal mycelium growth and texture.
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The study of fungal distribution proves to be a challenging task due to the currently sparse and heterogeneous taxonomic knowledge as well
as the lack of mycologists around the world!
At
MYCOSPHERE, we are aware of the tremendous reservoir of diversity that
fungi can offer. From our own isolation
programs, we estimate that there may be over 20 million fungi species,
among which at least 5 million can be cultured in the laboratory
without much difficulty.
Our
research programs place emphasis on isolating groups of fungi which have been poorly investigated, such
as:
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• Fungi in mangrove habitats.
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Fungi associated with marine organisms,
e.g. sponges, algae, corals and other invertebrates.
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•Endophytes of various plants and trees.
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Other rare fungal
groups.
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• Fungi associated with arthropods.
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