Parasitic fungi

The parasitic species transmit diseases and form relations with other organisms, in which the fungus benefits from the association and damages the host organism (human beings and plants). Such fungi as Endothia parasitica, Ceratocystis ulmi, Puccinia sparganioides, Puccinia graminis are parasites of plants, while fungi of the genus Aspergillus or Candida albicans carry infections to the human organisms.
Plant parasites
Devastating effects have been observed in the forests due to the spread of two different diseases: the “powdery mildew”, that affects chestnut trees (Endothia parasitica), and the “dry disease”, that affects elms (Ceratocystis ulmi). Not to mention the damages caused by such fungi as rusts and smuts to the harvests of the whole world. Some rusts, such as Puccinia sparganioides, need several host plants to complete their life cycle: in temperate climates, they spend the winter on the spartina, while in spring they produce small spores that the wind carries away to make them sprout on the new leaves of the nearby ashes. The “boil smut” damages the crops, even if Mexicans consider it a delicacy.
Human parasites
About one hundred of the thousands of known species of fungi are pathogenic to man, causing infections that are called mycoses. A large part of mycoses is transmitted through inhalation, ingestion or the infection of skin wounds and attack the skin, hairs, nails and mucosa. When inhaled, the spores of the genus Aspergillus transmit a serious lung infection, Aspergillosis, while the mycoses of the skin, hairs and nails are called tineas. The mouth, the digestive and the reproductive systems can be infected by the genus Candida albicans; in new-born children, this infection is called thrush and causes white patches on the mouth mucosa.

 
Download "Man and fungi" pdf file
Download the junior version pdf file
 

Special reports

  • 26 October 2022

    Praising the meatball

    Let's learn to transform waste into resources!

    10 October 2022

    Spider lullaby

    There are spiders that weave a classic web, that one we all know, to catch prey. There are others who…

  • 19 September 2022

    Double blow to dinosaurs

    The Main Asteroid Belt is between Mars and Jupiter, an enormous ring consisting of millions of large and small rocks…

    24 May 2022

    Amphibians in peril

    The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) warns: the extinction rate of amphibians is about 200 times greater than…

  • 8 March 2022

    8 March. We remember Rosalind Franklin, the great female DNA scientist.

    DNA was first isolated by Friedrich Miescher, a Swiss biochemist in 1869. It was a brilliant, but not complicated operation:…

    27 February 2022

    In search of the riders of icebergs

    International Polar Bear Day, set up by Polar Bears International, a non-profit organisation, was held on 27 February. The aim…

  • 26 October 2022

    Praising the meatball

    Let's learn to transform waste into resources!

  • 10 October 2022

    Spider lullaby

    There are spiders that weave a classic web, that one we all know, to catch prey. There are others who…

  • 19 September 2022

    Double blow to dinosaurs

    The Main Asteroid Belt is between Mars and Jupiter, an enormous ring consisting of millions of large and small rocks…

From the Multimedia section

Facts

  • 13 May 2011

    Decomposing organisms

    The ability to destroy organic matter has been used by man...

    Bread and cheese, wine or beer

    Yeast is used to make wine, beer and bread. When mixed with the bread dough...

  • Let’s eat!

    The economic importance of fungi is increased by the “edible” mushrooms...

    Predator mushroom

    <em>Pleutrotus ostreatus</em> mushroom does not have teeth or claws but it is...

  • Who lives well with low oxygen?

    <i><span style="font-style: normal; " class="Apple-style-span"><i><em>Aquandriella fermentas</em> </i>lives in stagnant waters and can stand complete anaerobiosis...</span></i>

    Responsible for fish-plagues

    <em>Sporolegnia parasitica</em> is widely present in estuaries and fish tanks and that...