SEMINAR: MYCOLOGY

TOPIC: ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF FUNGI IN

AGRICULTURE

By

BAMGBOSE Timothy Oluwaseyi

First Year M.Sc.

Department of Studies
MICROBIOLOGY
University of Mysore, Manasagangothri

Submitted To

Prof. (Dr.) Ravishankar V.

NOVEMBER 2012
FUNGI?
A fungus (Plural–fungi or funguses, oxford dictionary) is a member of a large group

of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and moulds as well as

the more familiar mushrooms. They are classified as kingdom Fungi, which is separate

from plants, animals, and bacteria. One major difference is that fungal cells have cell

walls that contain chitin, unlike the cell walls of plants, which contain cellulose.

Traditionally, biologists have defined fungi as eukaryotic, spore producing, achlorophyllous

organisms with absorptive nutrition that generally reproduce both sexually and asexually and

whose usually filamentous, branched somatic structures, known as hyphae, typically are

surrounded by cell walls (Alexopoulos C.J, Mims C.W et al)

Although often inconspicuous, fungi occur in every environment on Earth and play very

important roles in most ecosystems. Along with bacteria, fungi are the major decomposers in

most terrestrial and some aquatic ecosystems, and therefore play a critical role

in biogeochemical cycles (Gadd GM 2007) and in many food webs. As decomposers, they play

an essential role in nutrient cycling, especially as saprotrophs and symbionts,

degrading organic matter to inorganic molecules, which can then re-enter anabolic metabolic

pathways in plants or other organisms. (Barea JM, Pozo MJ, et al 2005, Lindahl BD, Ihrmark K,

et al 2007).
 a typical fungi

AGRICULTURE?
Agriculture which is also called farming or husbandry is the cultivation

of animals, plants, fungi, and other life forms for food, fiber, biofuel and other products used

to sustain life. The word agriculture is the English adaptation of Latin agricultūra, from ager,

"a field", and cultūra, "cultivation" in the strict sense of "tillage of the soil". Thus, a literal

reading of the word yields "tillage of fields". But in the broad sense it involves both land

cultivation for plants and animal rearing.

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF FUNGI IN AGRICULTURE

It should be noted that, when we talk about economic importance, we do refer to both the

positive and negative impact fungi have or could have on agriculture. The systematic study of

fungi is only 250 years old, but the manifestations of this group of organisms have been

known for thousands of years – ever since the first toast was proposed over a shell full of

wine and the first loaf of leavened bread was baked (Alexopoulos C.J, Mims C.W et al).

Fungi importance can be summarized into FOE: Plant Diseases, Animal Mycoses,

Mycotoxins, Spoilage and FRIEND: Useful metabolite – Plant Growth Hormones,

Biological Control – Insects & Nematodes and in Forestry – Mycorrhizal Associations.

Above are uses of fungi in relation to agriculture (Alexopoulos C.J, Mims C.W et al).
FOES:

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Many fungi produce biologically active compounds, several of which are toxic to animals or

plants and are therefore called mycotoxins. Mycotoxins produced by moulds are of particular

relevance to humans because they cause food spoilage, as well has poisonous mushrooms.

Particularly infamous are the lethal amatoxins in some Amanita mushrooms, and ergot

alkaloids, which have a long history of causing serious epidemics of ergotism (St Anthony's

Fire) in people consuming rye or related cereals contaminated with sclerotia of the ergot

fungus, Claviceps purpurea. ( Schardl CL, et al 2006) Other mycotoxins include the aflatoxins,

which are insidious liver toxins and highly carcinogenic metabolites produced by

certain Aspergillus species often growing in or on grains and nuts consumed by humans and

animals, ochratoxins, patulin, and trichothecenes (e.g., T-2 mycotoxin) and fumonisins,

which have significant impact on human food supplies or animal livestock (Van Egmond H.P,

et al; 2007). All this above mentioned mycotoxin could impact livestock live and cause

devastating economic loss to production.

Mycotoxin in maize

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The majority of phytopathogenic fungi belong to the Ascomycetes and the Basidiomycetes.
They could be Biotrophic fungal that colonizes living plant tissue and obtain nutrients from
living host cells or Necrotrophic fungal that infect and kill host tissue and extract nutrients
from the dead host cells, example of which is Powdery Mildew and Rice Blast respectively.

Significant fungal plant pathogens include:

ASCOMYCETES

Fusarium spp. (causal agents of Fusarium wilt disease)

Thielaviopsis spp. (causal agents of: canker rot, black root rot, Thielaviopsis root rot)

Magnaporthe grisea (causal agent of blast of rice and gray leaf spot in turf grasses)

BASIDIOMYCETES

Phakospora pachyrhizi (causal agent of soybean rust)

Puccinia spp. (causal agents of severe rusts of virtually all cereal grains and cultivated
grasses)

OOMYCETES
The oomycetes are not true fungi but are fungus-like organisms (Nicole Davis, Haas et al.
2009). . They include some of the most destructive plant pathogens including
the genus Phytophthora, which includes the causal agents of potato late blight and sudden
oak death. Particular species of oomycetes are responsible for root rot. Despite not being
closely related to the fungi, the oomycetes have developed very similar infection strategies.
Oomycetes are capable of using effector proteins to turn off a plant's defences in its infection
process. Plant pathologists commonly group them with fungal pathogens. Significant
oomycete plant pathogens

Pythium spp.
Phytophthora spp.; including the causal agent of the Great Irish Famine (1845–1849)
Several types of plant diseases caused by (different types of fungi) species
of Nematospra spp. Can attack tomatoes, cotton and bean plants.
Similar disease like causal organisms

a. Stem rust of wheat – Pucvinia graministice

b. Early blight of potato – Alternaria solani
 c. Late blight of potato – Phytiphtoria infestans

d. White rust of crucifer – Albugo candida

Many wood rotting fungi e.g. a few species of Lentinus, Serpula lacrymans, Coniophora
cerebella, etc. cause a great monetary loss. Dry rot and wet rot are most dangerous diseases
of the timber.

Fungal parasites may be useful in bio-control, but they can also have enormous negative
consequences for crop production. Some fungi are parasites of plants. Most of our common
crop plants are susceptible to fungal attack of one kind or another. Spore production and
dispersal is enormously efficient in fungi and plants of the same species crowded together in
fields are susceptible to attack. Fungal diseases can on occasion result in the loss of entire
crops if they are not treated with antifungal agents.

powdery mildew

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Dermatophytes are significant pathogens in animal health due to their zoonotic potential; the
economic consequences of infection in farm animal and fur production systems, and the
distressing lesions they cause in small domestic pets. Malassezia spp are normal commensal
and occasional pathogens of the skin of many veterinary species. Malassezia
pachydermatis is a very common cause of otitis (inflammation of the ear) and pruritic
dermatitis in dogs though it is of less importance in other veterinary species.
Dermatophytosis, Malassezia otitis and dermatitis, represent the superficial mycoses of
greatest significance in companion and farm animal health. They are significant due to their
economic consequences of infection in farm animal and fur production systems.
Coccidioidomycosis (A serious disease of the lungs and other tissues, caused by inhaling the
microscopic spores of the fungus Coccidioides immitis or C. posadasii species.) and
pythiosis (a form of infectious disease caused by Pythium insidiosum. It occurs most
commonly in dogs and horses it is characterized by enlarging subcutaneous abscesses that
destroy the overlying skin. It is a disease of farm animals (mainly the young), as well as mink
and fish.) are geographically limited in their occurrence (coccidioidomycosis by geographic
region and pythiosis by climate), but within regions where they do occur, their presence in
animals is not unusual.

Aspergillus fumigatus is a major problem in birds in Nigeria especially where mould feeds is
given to bird. Mycoses are frequently acquired via inhalation of spores from an
environmental reservoir or by unusual growth of a commensal species that is normally
resident on skin or the gastrointestinal tract.
Some yeasts causes huge loss in silk industry they attack silk worms, kill them or affect the
egg by stopping it from hatching.

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It has been noted that fungi play a major role in recycling organic material. Fungi which are
used for making our bread and jam can go mouldy but they are only recycling organic matter,
even though in such case, we would prefer that it didn't happen! Fungal damage can be
responsible for large losses of stored food, particularly food which contains any moisture.
Dry grains can usually be stored successfully, but the minute they become damp, moulds are
likely to render them inedible. This is obviously a problem where large quantities of food are
being produced seasonally and then require storage until they are needed.
Some fungi destroy materials for example attacking textile materials, paper, leather, goods
and rubber. Some of these materials are used in agricultural establishment. A wide range of
thermophilic and thermo-tolerant fungi can cause spoilage of bagasse, grain, groundnut, hay,
palm kernels, peat, wood chips and other agricultural crops. Common food damaging fungi
are Aspergillus, Penicillium, Mucor and Rhizopus.
FRIENDS:
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In agriculture, fungi may be useful if they actively compete for nutrients and space
with pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria or other fungi via the competitive
exclusion principle (which is a proposition which states that two species competing for the
same resources cannot coexist if other ecological factors are constant. When one species has
even the slightest advantage or edge over another, then the one with the advantage will
dominate in the long term. One of the two competitors will always overcome the other,
leading to either the extinction of this competitor or an evolutionary or behavioural shift
towards a different ecological niche {Hardin, G. 1960}), or if they are parasites of these
pathogens. For example, certain species may be used to eliminate or suppress the growth of
harmful plant pathogens, such as insects, mites, weeds, nematodes and other fungi that cause
diseases of important crop plants (Becker H. 1998). This has generated strong interest in
practical applications that use these fungi in the biological control of these agricultural pests.

Entomopathogenic fungi (i.e a fungus that can act as a parasite of insects and kills or
seriously disables them.) can be used as biopesticides, as they actively kill insects (Keiller
TS. 2011). Examples that have been used as biological insecticides are Beauveria bassiana,
Metarhizium spp, Hirsutella spp, Paecilomyces (Isaria) spp, and Lecanicillium lecanii
(Deshpande MV. 1999).

Endophytic fungi (living within the plant) of grasses of the genus Neotyphodium, such as N.
coenophialum, produce alkaloids that are toxic to a range of invertebrate and
vertebrate herbivores. These alkaloids protect grass plants from herbivory, but several
endophyte alkaloids can poison grazing animals, such as cattle and sheep ( Bush LP, et al;
1997). Infecting cultivars of pasture or forage grasses with Neotyphodium endophytes is one
approach being used in grass breeding programs; the fungal strains are selected for producing
only alkaloids that increase resistance to herbivores such as insects, while being non-toxic to
livestock (Bouton JH, Latch GCM, Hill NS, et al 2002).

Certain fungi, in particular "white rot" fungi, can

degrade insecticides, herbicides, pentachlorophenol, creosote, coal tars, and heavy fuels and
turn them into carbon dioxide, water, and basic elements (Christian V, et al 2005). Fungi have
been shown to biomineralize uranium oxides, suggesting they may have application in the
bioremediation of radioactively polluted sites (Fomina M, Charnock JM. Et al 2008). The use of
fungi to degrade contaminant in agricultural land is called Mycoremediation which is a
phrase coined by Paul Stamets, a form of bioremediation that uses fungi to degrade
contaminants in the environment. The key to mycoremediation is determining the right fungal
species to target a specific pollutant.

cicardia killed by endophyte

Fungi such as the Chinese caterpillar fungus, which parasitize insects, can be extremely
useful for controlling insect pests of crops. The spores of the fungi are sprayed on the crop
pests. Fungi have been used to control Colorado potato beetles, which can devastate potato
crops. Spittlebugs, leaf hoppers and citrus rust mites are some of the other insect pests which
have been controlled using fungi. This method is generally cheaper and less damaging to the
environment than using chemical pesticides.

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Mycorrhizae are associations between fungal hyphae and the roots of plants. Almost all
terrestrial plants, including wild plants, trees and commercial crops will form mycorrhizal
associations with fungi in the soil. These mycorrhizae are vitally important for the growth
and health of the plants.

Fungi are vitally important for the good growth of most plants, including crops, through the
development of mycorrhizal associations. As plants are at the base of most food chains, if
their growth was limited, all animal life, including human, would be seriously reduced
through starvation. Beneficial relationship (symbiotic) between the hyphae of soil-borne
fungi and the roots of higher plants is called Mycorrhiza. Most of the deciduous or evergreen
trees have ectomycorrhizas - in this case the roots are externally surrounded by the hyphae of
some fungi as Boletus, Phallus, Scleroderma, Amantia, Tricholoma, etc. Those fungi
decompose soil organic matter and the leaf litter. Ectomycorrhiza promotes the growth of the
used-seedlings. Dungbl hyphae easily absorb nutrients like phosphorous, calcium, nitrogen,
potassium etc. and then passed to the tissues of roots. In this way a symbiotic relationship is
established.

Through their enormous collecting network of hyphae in the soil, the fungi help to supply
nutrients, especially phosphorus, to the plant roots they are associated with. This can have
amazing effects on plant growth, particularly in soils which are not very fertile. In soils
containing little phosphorus, plants with mycorrhizae have been shown to grow up to 20
times faster than those without. The survival of plant seedlings may also be up to five times
greater if they have mycorrhizae to help them collect nutrients and water from the soil.
Helping plants to obtain phosphorus from the soil may also give them increased drought
tolerance, as this is one of the effects of improved phosphorus nutrition.

Being saprophytes they decompose the organic matter and enhance the fertility of the soil.
Some fungi develop symbiotic relation with roots of higher plant like Pinus and help them in
absorption of nutrients. Mycorrhizal fungi can often form associations with many different
kinds of plants at the same time. The fungal hyphae of several different kinds of fungi may
therefore be like a giant underground network connecting most of the plants in a habitat
together. It is possible, although not proven, that this enables different plants to exchange
nutrients between them via the fungal hyphae. If this is so then this would hugely improve the
chances of seedlings surviving, because they are not just dependent on their tiny root system,
but have access to the great underground collecting network.

The presence of a good network of mycorrhizal fungi in the soil is therefore of vital
importance for good plant growth in most habitats. Where the fungi are absent, or only
present as isolated spores in the soil, plant growth will be reduced, apart from those species
which do not require mycorrhizae. Most of these are what are commonly termed weed
species. Mycorrhizae also help to develop good soil structure through production of a protein
which helps to stick small particles of soil together to form larger ones. This means that water
can move more easily through the soil and provides more air spaces and thus air, for soil
organisms and plant roots.
There are several different kinds of mycorrhizae. In some, the fungal hyphae actually enter
the cells of the plant roots. These are called endomycorrhizae. There are several different
kinds of these endomycorrhizae, of which a type abbreviated
to AM (Arbuscular Mycorrhizae), is perhaps the best known. Eighty percent of the world's
plant species, from grasses, to trees, most crop plants, shrubs and flowers, form AM
associations. Another type is called an Ectomycorrhiza (ECM). In this kind, the fungus forms
associations with plant roots, but does not actually enter the root cells. This kind is mostly
formed with different types of trees, such as pines, firs, spruces and oaks, amongst many
others. ECM fungi may form thick hyphal strands known as rhizomorphs which can conduct
water and nutrients relatively long distances. Many of the fungi common in woodland are
ectomycorrhizal fungi, with mushroom or toadstool-like fruiting bodies
(www.countrysideinfo.co.uk).

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Amylase, a well-known enzyme is produced from Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus oryzae.
Digestin, diastase, ployzime etc. are obtained from Aspergillus flavus. For the
enzyme invertase, Saccharomyces cerevisiae is used. All the yeasts
including Saccharomyces cerevisiae are source of vitamin B-complex and riboflavin. The
fungus Gibberella fujikuroi is the source of a group of plant hormones used to accelerate the
growth of many crops. Some fungi are used to produce hormone like Gibberellin, which
aides’ plant growth. As plants are at the base of most food chains, if their growth was limited,
all animal life, including human, would be seriously reduced through starvation.
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