Fungi: The good, the bad &

the ugly!
Mary Heneghan
IT Sligo

Why Study Fungi?

Status as a
kingdom in 1784
1.5 million
different
species
Play vital roles
in:
Agriculture
Medicine
Biotechnology

Fungal Nutrition
Heterotrophs cannot make their own food
Cannot ingest food like animals
Fungi absorb nutrients from the environment
outside of their body
Collectively, enzymes from different fungi can
digest compounds from a range of sources
living & dead
Decomposers
Parasites
Mutualists

Structure
Fungi exist mainly in
the form of slender
filaments (hyphae).
Mycelium - mass of
connected hyphae.

Some fungi develop

fruiting bodies

Some fungi grow as

single cell yeasts

How big do they get?

Largest organism in the world
~ humongous fungus
Armillaria ostoyae
Honey mushroom
Malheur National Forest in
Eastern Oregon
2,200 acres
1,665 football fields
Bigger than a blue whale
2,400 - 7,200 years old

Why Study Fungi?

Play vital roles in:
Agriculture
Medicine
Biotechnology

Oyster

Food
Chestnut

Shitake

Enoki

Button

Truffles
Most expensive edible mushroom
Considered a delicacy
Subterranean
1-2 cm wide
Dogs & pigs used to sniff them out
1.5kg rare white alba sold for
125,000

Psychedelic mushrooms
Magic mushrooms/shrooms
Employed for healing, fortune telling & intercession with spirits
Effects felt in 30 min & last up to 6 h
psychedelic substances psilocybin and psilocin

mimics serotonin - activates

serotonin receptors in the
brain

Food processing
Baking

1.5 million tonnes of bakers yeast per annum

Blue Cheeses

Penicillium roquefortii

Sausages/Salami

mouldy covering on the surface ~ Penicillium

improves flavour

Soy Sauce

Soy beans soaked and inoculated with

Aspergillus sojae, A. awemori and A. oryzae

Conidium

Phialide

SEM of Penicillium candidum on the surface of Brie

Human pathogens
Over 200 species associated with human
infection
Athletes
foot: Trichophyton
Aspergillosis
in Brain rubrum
Malassezia globosa: Dandruff

Mycotoxins:
Toxins produced by fungi
Secondary metabolites
Produced on cereals and oil-rich seeds
Death Cap: Amanita phalloides
Responsible for
90% of mushroom
fatalities
Violent vomiting
6-24hrs post
ingestion
Causes liver
failure 10-14 days
post ingestion

Mortality of 50-90%

Ergot: Claviceps purpurea

Produces chemicals: alkaloids
Ergotamine
Vasoconstricter ~ reduces peripheral
blood supply
Gangerinous ergotism
Extremeties particularly sensitive
Symptoms range from:
shedding of nails
loss of hands & feet ~ blood starved limbs dry
up, turn black and fall off ~ no pain or bleeding
"holy

fire" or "Saint Anthony's fire"

Ergot: Claviceps purpurea

LSD derived from Lysergic acid

semisynthetic psychedelic drug

first synthesized in 1938
part of a large research program searching for
medically useful ergot alkaloid derivatives
CIA mind-control research program 1950s
-1960s ~ test effects on soliders

Suggested as cause of Saalem Witch trials

suffering hallucinations and other symptoms of
convulsive ergotism

Ergotamine now used for:

induction of labour
prevention of post child birth haemorrhaging
used to control migraine

Chestnut blight
70% of major crop diseases
are caused by fungi
Cryphonectria parasitica
First half of the 20th century
- death of 80% of American
chestnut trees throughout
forests from Maine to
Georgia

Botrytis cinerea
broad host range - capable of infecting
over 200 plant species

Biocontrol agents
Use of microorganisms to interfere with
plant pathogens and pests
Nature friendly, ecological approach
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuKjB
IBBAL8

Medical Industry
Fungi are involved in processing of more
than 10 of the 20 most profitable
products in medicine
3 anti-cholesterol statins, penicillin, &
cyslosporin A are among the top 10
Each has a turnover in excess of $1
billion annually

Summary
Fungi play a vital role in:
Agriculture

Food source
Plant pathogens
Bio-control agents

Medicine

Human pathogens
Source of many drugs

Biotechnology

Pharmaceutical products
Food
Enzymes

Why Study Science at IT Sligo?

Voted second best IT in The Sunday Times Good

University Guide

IT Sligo is the best third-level institution in the

country when it comes to its students getting jobs

Largest School of Science in the IT sector outside of

Dublin

Largest School in IT Sligo

2 departments in the school of Science

Variety of courses available

Life Science
Environmental Science

Life Science Courses

B.Sc. Biomedical Science

B.Sc. (Hons) Medical Biotechnology

B.Sc. Pharmaceutical Science with Drug Development

B.Sc. (Hons) Pharmaceutical Science with Drug Development

B.Sc. Health Science & Physiology

B.Sc. (Hons) Public Health & Health Promotion (Add-on)

B.Sc. Human Nutrition

B.Sc. (Hons) Human Nutrition

B.Sc. Forensic Investigation & Analysis

B.Sc. (Hons) Forensic Investigation & Analysis

B.Sc. (Hons) Science

Higher Certificate in Science

Environmental Science
Courses

B.Sc. (Hons) Environmental Science

B.Sc. Applied Archaeology
B.Sc. (Hons) Applied Archaeology
B.Sc. Occupational Safety & Health
B.Sc. (Hons) Occupational Safety & Health
B.Sc. Environmental Protection
Higher Certificate in Applied Archelogy

What is BioMedical Science?

Love of Biology as a Science Subject.

Involve the study & application of the principles of the
natural sciences to medicine and biotechnology.
Typical Subjects Studied
Animal Cell Culture.
Cell Biology.
Implant Biocompatibility.
Medical Device Design & Manufacturing.
Immunodiagnostics.
Protein Biotechnology.
Biopharmaceutical Processing.
Biochemistry.
DNA technology
Tissue Engineering

Career opportunities
250: # MedTech companies in Ireland
120: # Pharmaceutical companies in Ireland
50% of ventilators in acute hospitals globally are made in
Ireland.
33% of worlds contact lenses are manufactured in Ireland
30 million people with diabetes use Irish made injectable devices
Graduate Careers:
Research Technician
Diagnostic Technician
Technical Specialist
Quality Engineer
Production Biochemist
Quality Validation
Engineer
Microbiologist
Bioassay Scientist