Overview
Access this book
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Other ways to access
Table of contents (10 chapters)
-
Front Matter
-
Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
We can also thank fungi for antibiotics, but do we fully appreciate the revolution in life style (and life expectancy) that these taken-for-granted treatments permit? One of the first people to receive penicillin treatment in England in the 1940s was a policeman in Oxford. He died of septicemia when the supplies of the antibiotic ran out after he had been scratched by a rose thorn.
Fungi enabled plants (by a mutualistic combination that persists today) to invade the land during the evolution of life on Earth. Higher fungi are almost unique in their ability to decay the chemical components of timber. Without the wood-rotting fungi we would be up to our eyes in dead trees. Fungi give us the opportunity of treating plant diseases and killing specific weeds, as well as being very useful for cleaning up polluted environments and for producing chemicals. In short, this book will show you why it is wise to look again at fungi and appreciate these extraordinary organisms for what they are: a vital component of our lives and of the Earth's ecosystem.
Authors and Affiliations
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Slayers, Saviors, Servants and Sex
Book Subtitle: An Exposé of Kingdom Fungi
Authors: David Moore
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0135-6
Publisher: Springer New York, NY
-
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive
Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media New York 2001
Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-387-95101-0Published: 21 December 2000
Softcover ISBN: 978-0-387-95098-3Published: 21 December 2000
eBook ISBN: 978-1-4613-0135-6Published: 27 June 2011
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: VII, 175
Topics: Microbiology, Agriculture, Forestry, Pharmacology/Toxicology, Nutrition, Ecology