Courtesy Texas A&M University
Fungi Mold the World
Fungal Biology (BIOL 4053)
Meredith Blackwell (mblackwell@lsu.edu)
Tuesday and Thursday, 9:10 -10:30, Williams 208.  No textbook required.  Office hours?  Much of the time, but write an e-mail or phone to make an appointment!  Also, I am happy to answer questions online.

Grading Criteria: The final grade will be based on two hourly examinations and a cumulative final examination; each exam is worth 100 points for a grand total of 300 points.

A special project will add 0-5 points to the final grade.  The project consists of writing a "virtual highway marker" to go on the web site at <http://lsb380.plbio.lsu.edu/highway.historical.markers>.   The topic must be approved and the completed write-up is due by 5:00 p.m., Thursday 28 March. The links in the syllabus (below) may give you some ideas. See the Virtual Highway of Biological Historical Markers with many fungal events written by Fungal Biology class members.

Grading scale:
A=100-90
B=89-80
C=79-70
D=69=60
F=below 59

Fungi literally mold the Earth.  They modify our habitats and are essential in many ecosystem functions.  For example they are among the biological agents that form soil, decay wood, enhance plant growth, and cull plants from forests.  Some fungi are animal pathogens that in worse cases kill us, while other fungi have perforrmaed miraculous cures. Fungi feed us and poison us.  They perform industrial processes, and several are important as model eukaryotic systems that push back the frontiers of biological research.  1.5 million species of fungi interact with all major groups of organisms, and by their decent from an ancestor shared with animals the group constitutes a major eukaryotic lineage equal to that of the animals and exceeding the plants.
Study materials for this course:
Great links to look over!
SPRING SEMESTER 2002
Lecture topics
January 15
January 17
January 22
January 24
 Photo courtesy of Charles Mims
What is a fungus? What is not a fungus? Fungus life styles: What do I do if my nuclei are haploid, my meiosis zygotic, and my growth is at my tip?  How do I eat if my body is a thread and my stomach is inside out?
January 29
January 31
February 5 (MARDI GRAS) 		Photo courtesy of Charles Mims
Fungi as models: Nobel Prizes, small eukaryotic genomes, and 100 sexes
February 7
February 12
February 14
February 19 (EXAM 1, 100 pts.)
 Photo courtesy of Robert Lichtwardt
Microbiology and Immunology On-line, with comprehensive sections on medical mycology
Fungi in medicine: Toes itch, brains drain, and noses drip; biological warfare
February 21
February 26
February 28
 Photo courtesy of Tom Volk
Fungi poison my food: Vomitoxin, sporidesmin, turkey-X disease, ergotism, Salem witches, yellow rain, and cancer
March 4
March 6

Photo M. Blackwell
Fungi in agriculture: Wilts and woes, smuting and rusting, and biological control
March 11
March 13		 Photo courtesy of Tom Bruns
Fungi in forests: Plant partners (endophytes, mycorrhizae), invasive pathogens, insect dispersal, more biological control, fungal decay and rot residue, bird houses, and culling for renewal
March 18
March 20		 Photo M. Blackwell
Fungi are food: Beyond morels
March 25 (EXAM 2, 100 pts)
March 27 (OPTIONAL PROJECT DUE)
April 1
April 3
 Photo M. Blackwell
Fungi make merry: Fermented food, drink and more drink
April 8
April 10


Fungi make money: Drugs, acids, vitamins, metabolic processes, and bioprospecting
April 15
April 17
Fungi cures: From Hadrian’s Wall to Praed Street near the underground, malaria
April 22
April 24
April 29
May 1
Fungi in many cultures: Mushroom stones, soma, and other magic
Monday May 5  FINAL EXAM, 100 pts:  3:00 - 5:00 PM, Williams 208
Last update 23 March 2004
Meredith Blackwell
Mycology at LSU