Botanic Gardens Trust, Sydney, Australia

Department of Environment and Climate Change NSW

Australian Microfungi

Brett Summerell & Edward Liew, Plant Pathologists

The fungal kingdom is thought to contain the most number of species after the insects and is probably the least understood of all the organisms on the planet. Most of us are aware of the mushrooms and toadstools that we see popping up in the garden but very few are aware of the huge array of microscopic fungi that exist.

These fungi are by far the most numerous with estimates of hundreds of thousands of species existing. However scientists probably only know around 10% of these species and the percentage even lower in Australia. These fungi play very important roles in the functioning of ecosystems; some are plant and animal pathogens, others form intimate symbiotic relationships with plants but the majority are saprophytes. These are organisms that breakdown organic matter so that the nutrients then eventually become available to plants. As a consequence they are responsible for maintaining healthy soils and ensuring the viability of all sorts of ecosystems.

At the Botanic Gardens Trust our scientists have a program to collect, identify and describe many of these species. We have been examining those fungi associated with leaf-spots on plants in the Proteaceae (plants like the waratah, banksia and grevillea) and researching the important plant pathogenic genus Fusarium. We use a range of techniques including microscopy and molecular fingerprinting to identify new species.

This research has resulted in the description of a number of species new to science and has had implications for agriculture, horticulture as well as the protection of our native ecosystems. A knowledge of the fungi present in Australia is also essential for quarantine purposes.

Proteaceae

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