There are various myths related to mushrooms due to their hallucinogenic nature as well as pathogenic and harmful to humans, however, the fungi kingdom is broad and heterogeneous: currently there are up to 155 thousand species on the planet that are characterized by their diversity, although it has been calculated that there could be 2.5 million species. Now, there are two types of fungi without which the planet and life as we know it would not exist: saprophytes and mycorrhizal fungi.
According to him Dr. César Marín, Full Professor and Researcher at the Research and Innovation Center for Climate Change (CiiCC) of the University Santo Tomas, these types of mushrooms “They helped plants colonize the earth and without them, the atmosphere as we know it would not exist. More than 85% “All terrestrial plants depend on and are associated with these fungi in their roots, including the vast majority of crops.”
Specific, saprophytic fungi degrade and recycle organic matter, that is, everything that falls to the ground, dies and decomposes as leaves, wood and dead animals. “Without this decomposition process, the planet we see today would not exist. This recycling of nutrients is what sustains forests, grasslands, crops. What’s more, there was a geological epoch, the Carboniferouswhere these decomposing organisms did not exist and fallen logs accumulated for several meters“explains the Dr. Marin.
The second type of fungus of vital importance is the mycorrhizal fungi, that exist practically on a par with the first fossils of land plants and that are characterized by being “a symbiosis where there is an exchange of carbon, from the plant to the fungus and of nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen; and protection against pathogens or metals, by the fungus towards the plant“, comments Marin. Specifically, this type of organism is being researched internationally to increase crop production and growth.
MYTHS
In addition to the myths related to hallucinogenic and pathogenic character of plants and animalshe Dr. Marin mentions the misinformation that exists about other types of fungi, such as yeast, “We wrote an article in which we reviewed the hundreds of documents that make up the Chilean public school plan, and we find that fungi are mentioned only nine times while plants and animals are mentioned hundreds of times,” Explain.
Regarding this study, the academic comments that of the nine mentions, eight correspond to the pathogenic fungi and only one to the yeasts. However, most fungi are saprophytes and their job is to decompose organic matter, an aspect that has been studied in academia in recent years in order to demystify its function. “Fungi are fundamental for the functioning of the planet, as or more important than pollinating organisms such as bees, that in the popular imagination do not have the same negative view as mushrooms”, he adds.
