On Thursday, Sept. 28, the Fifth Annual Martha Christensen Memorial Lecture Series took place. Anne Pringle, a professor at the University of Wisconsin came to Laramie and gave two presentations concerning the role that nonpathogenic, invasive fungi play in biodiversity.
“Rethinking Baker’s Articulation of an ‘Ideal Weed’ with fungi: What Enables Non Pathogenic Fungi to invade new habitats?” and “The Problem of Invasive Mycorrhizal Fungi,” were the respective titles of each presentation.
Biology, conservation sciences, and ecology are endlessly vast and many specific specialties are generally unstudied. For instance, the study of fungi dispersal, mutualism, and invasion has had little to no research; however, Pringle has devoted her field of study to researching these topics.
Pringle spent last year in South Africa working at the University of Pretoria and with FABI (Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology). She elaborated on her work and how invasive species had affected the ecosystems of South Africa, Australia, and numerous other scapes she has visited.
“South Africa is famous for its biodiversity,” Pringle explained. She continued to say that the mountain sides in South Africa should be blanketed by miles of green; but instead, the mountains are covered by pine trees, which are not native to South Africa. Nevertheless, pine plantations provide a living for a large population, and despite being invasive, do not cause much issue for the ecosystem.
However, this is not the case with the invasion of the mushroom species laying siege to the ecosystem. 163 different species of agaric and boletes, including Amanita muscaria and Death Cap mushrooms which plague the environment. The Death Cap, which is native to Europe, raises particular concern as it has caused 90% of mushroom related deaths in Europe over the last few decades.
Death Caps have also caused issues in Australia and North America after being introduced from Europe. Pringle discussed a common work known as “Baker’s Articulation of an Ideal Weed” and discussed three of his 12 points. Pringle explained that, “Rapid growth through vegetative phase to flowering, Self-compatible but not completely autogamous or apomictic, and Has ability to compete interspecifically by special means” are the three main points that can be directly applied to the spread of invasive fungi. The other issue that has caused a bump in the study is that, “One death cap is not like another death cap.”
Pringle explained that death caps cannot be grown in a lab, and only thrive in a field.
“We don’t know anything about why these chemicals are made in nature.”
Biologists know that these fungi are toxic, and poisonous; however, they have not pinned down an exact reason as to why. There are similar toxins found in other organisms, for example MSDIN products are found in spiders, scorpions, and platypuses. Pringle explained that the finding question that needs to be addressed is, “Why are mushrooms poisonous, what enemy do they have — Slugs? And what is the problem genome doing in California?”
She later discussed a similar issue presented by the Golden Oyster mushroom that has become a “choice edible” according to Pringle. The mushrooms have escaped from grow kits and have been incentivized by companies to grow them in their yards and waste. However, this invasive fungi tamper with the surrounding ecosystem.
“The presence of GOM (Golden Oyster Mushrooms) is associated with significantly lower fungal richness,” Pringle explained. The impact that they have on surrounding trees is also a major concern, “Golden Oysters were bred to eat wood really fast and reproduce a lot.”
Though the study of invasive fungi is not well studied, Pringle plans to continue her study and expand the research field throughout the rest of her career.
