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Researchers throw the book at sickening fungiThey make people sick, cause crop losses and spoil food, but a tell-all book on fungi--filamentous fungi to be exact--has hit the stands. The text, "Cellular and Molecular Biology of Filamentous Fungi," was co-edited by plant pathologists Katherine Borkovich, Ph.D., at the University of California-Riverside and Daniel Ebbole, Ph.D., at Texas A&M University. The duo wrote and helped compile the chapters written by some of the nation's leading scientists who study fungi. Ebbole, who holds a joint appointment with Texas AgriLife Research, said microbiologists around the world will find the book important as a "point of reference for any investigation into filamentous fungi." Fungi typically grow as long filaments. They can produce a wide variety of antibiotics, drugs and enzymes. Molds, produced by fungi, are economically important in the fields of medicine and agriculture because they can impact the health of people and the plants and animals throughout the food chain, he explained. Ebbole noted that the book has numerous illustrations and tables that should be helpful for college undergraduate and graduate students who may use the book. According to AMS Press, the publishing arm of the American Society for Microbiology, the book "begins with a historical perspective, cell morphology and taxonomy, and then moves on to such topics as cell growth, development, metabolism and pathogenesis." It includes explanations of how "individual species have adapted themselves to highly diverse ecological niches." The authors cover both plant and animal pathogens and include a "careful evaluation of current literature" about fungi. The 802-page AMS Press book costs $209.95 and is available at http://estore.asm.org/viewItemDetails.asp?ItemID=898.
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