chemistry and in the production of antibiotics and other bioactive compounds.
Fungi, especially yeasts, are important in fermentation processes. Other fungi are
important in the production of enzymes, citric acid, and other organic compounds
as well as in the fermentation of foods.
Fungi have invaded every conceivable ecological niche. Saprobic forms
abound, especially in the decay of organic debris. Pathogenic forms exist with
both plant and animal hosts. Fungi even grow on other fungi. They are found in
aquatic as well as soil environments, and their spores may pollute the air. Some
are edible; others are poisonous. Many are variously associated with plants as
copartners in the formation of lichens and mycorrhizae, as symbiotic endophytes
or as overt pathogens. Association with animal systems varies; examples include
the predaceous fungi that trap nematodes, the microfungi that grow in the
anaerobic environment of the rumen, the many insect associated fungi, and the
medically important pathogens afflicting humans. Yes, fungi are ubiquitous and
important. There are many fungi, conservative estimates are in the order of
100,000 species, and there are many ways to study them, from descriptive
accounts of organisms found in nature to laboratory experimentation at the
cellular and molecular level. All such studies expand our knowledge of fungi
and of fungal processes and improve our ability to utilize and to control fungi for
the benefit of humankind.
We have invited leading research specialists in the field of mycology to
contribute to this series. We are especially indebted and grateful for the initiative
and leadership shown by the Volume Editors in selecting topics and assembling
the experts. We have all been a bit ambitious in producing these volumes on a
timely basis and therein lies the possibility of mistakes and oversights in this first
edition. We encourage the readership to draw our attention to any error, omission, or inconsistency in this series in order that improvements can be made in
any subsequent edition.
Finally, we wish to acknowledge the willingness of Springer-Verlag to host
this project, which is envisioned to require more than 5 years of effort and the
publication of at least nine volumes.
Bochum, Germany
KARL ESSER
Auburn, AL, USA
PAUL A. LEMKE
April 1994
Series Editors
Series Preface
vii
Fungi, especially yeasts, are important in fermentation processes. Other fungi are
important in the production of enzymes, citric acid, and other organic compounds
as well as in the fermentation of foods.
Fungi have invaded every conceivable ecological niche. Saprobic forms
abound, especially in the decay of organic debris. Pathogenic forms exist with
both plant and animal hosts. Fungi even grow on other fungi. They are found in
aquatic as well as soil environments, and their spores may pollute the air. Some
are edible; others are poisonous. Many are variously associated with plants as
copartners in the formation of lichens and mycorrhizae, as symbiotic endophytes
or as overt pathogens. Association with animal systems varies; examples include
the predaceous fungi that trap nematodes, the microfungi that grow in the
anaerobic environment of the rumen, the many insect associated fungi, and the
medically important pathogens afflicting humans. Yes, fungi are ubiquitous and
important. There are many fungi, conservative estimates are in the order of
100,000 species, and there are many ways to study them, from descriptive
accounts of organisms found in nature to laboratory experimentation at the
cellular and molecular level. All such studies expand our knowledge of fungi
and of fungal processes and improve our ability to utilize and to control fungi for
the benefit of humankind.
We have invited leading research specialists in the field of mycology to
contribute to this series. We are especially indebted and grateful for the initiative
and leadership shown by the Volume Editors in selecting topics and assembling
the experts. We have all been a bit ambitious in producing these volumes on a
timely basis and therein lies the possibility of mistakes and oversights in this first
edition. We encourage the readership to draw our attention to any error, omission, or inconsistency in this series in order that improvements can be made in
any subsequent edition.
Finally, we wish to acknowledge the willingness of Springer-Verlag to host
this project, which is envisioned to require more than 5 years of effort and the
publication of at least nine volumes.
Bochum, Germany
KARL ESSER
Auburn, AL, USA
PAUL A. LEMKE
April 1994
Series Editors
Series Preface
vii