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Wood-decay fungi consume wood in various ways; for example, some attack the carbohydrates in wood, and some others decay lignin. The rate of decay of wooden materials in various climates can be estimated by empirical models. [3] Wood-decay fungi can be classified according to the type of decay that they cause.
Although fungi are eukaryotic, many pathogenic fungi are microorganisms. [1] Approximately 300 fungi are known to be pathogenic to humans; [2] their study is called "medical mycology". Fungal infections are estimated to kill more people than either tuberculosis or malaria—about two million people per year. [3]
Fungi have appeared, too, from time to time, in literature and art. Fungi create harm by spoiling food, destroying timber, and by causing diseases of crops, livestock, and humans. Fungi, mainly moulds like Penicillium and Aspergillus, spoil many stored foods. Fungi cause the majority of plant diseases, which in turn cause serious economic losses.
The degradation rate of many organic compounds is limited by their bioavailability, which is the rate at which a substance is absorbed into a system or made available at the site of physiological activity, [11] as compounds must be released into solution before organisms can degrade them. The rate of biodegradation can be measured in a number ...
The English word fungus is directly adopted from the Latin fungus (mushroom), used in the writings of Horace and Pliny. [10] This in turn is derived from the Greek word sphongos (σφόγγος 'sponge'), which refers to the macroscopic structures and morphology of mushrooms and molds; [11] the root is also used in other languages, such as the German Schwamm ('sponge') and Schimmel ('mold').
Planting resistant crops will prevent disease, however, virulence mutations will give rise to new strains of fungi that overcome plant resistance. [citation needed] Although the disease cannot be stopped by removal of the alternate host, the life cycle is disrupted and the rate of evolution is decreased because of reduced genetic recombination ...
Fungal infection, also known as mycosis, is a disease caused by fungi. [5] [13] Different types are traditionally divided according to the part of the body affected; superficial, subcutaneous, and systemic.
The mechanism presented is that ectomycorrhizal fungi can compete with free-living decomposers for nutrients, and thereby limit the rate of total decomposition. Since then there have been several other reports of ectomycorrhizal fungi reducing activity and decomposition rates of free-living decomposers and thereby increasing soil carbon storage.