Every year, I set a small reading goal and track my progress in one of those reading apps. I started using Storygraph last year and set a goal of 12 books. Small for some, but I met last year’s goal with no problem. 🙂
Category: Fungi
What is a Microbe? Why “Microbe” Is Difficult to Define
What is a microbe? On the surface, it seems easy to define. Many would say a microbe is an organism that is microscopic, one that is invisible to the naked eye. Many also include bacteria, archaea, fungi, viruses, protists, and even prions in the realm of microbiology. But, there are numerous nuances that challenge the…
Seven Spooky Microbiology Stories for Halloween
Spooky season is here! While we associate Halloween with ghost stories, haunted houses, zombies, and trick-or-treating, the microbial world contains many eerie, microscopic (and macroscopic) tales. This Halloween, we bring you seven tales of microbial spookiness. (1) Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus, the vampire bacteria Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus has many names such as the vampire bacterium or the predatory…
Botrytis cinerea: a fungus that gives us sweet wine grapes or moldy crops
The vineyard becomes the lab in investigations of Botrytis cinerea. It’s a “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” type of fungus because it causes two very different types of infections. It produces sweet wine grapes during noble rot but causes the plant’s demise in grey mold.
How Chemical Eavesdropping Enabled Carnivorism in Fungi
The fight for survival has led to the evolution of many strategies to obtain food, and some fungi have taken on a carnivorous lifestyle. There are over 700 species of carnivorous fungi identified that prey upon nematode worms, rotifers, and tardigrades. While fungi usually dine on decaying organic matter, sometimes that is not enough. Decaying…