D. H. Jennings - Böcker

The nutrition of a vegetative fungal colony can be viewed as a web of interconnected processes. In this volume, the author provides a mechanistic basis to the subject, focusing on the processes at the plasma membrane, the modulating effects of the fungal wall, and the fate of nutrients entering the fungus. The major emphasis is physiological, but biochemical and molecular biological information has also been drawn upon when appropriate, to reflect the power of a multifaceted approach and further encourage such study. A comprehensive review of what is known about the more commonly studied fungal species is complemented by information on other fungi, to provide an indication of the diversity of nutritional processes which exist in the fungal kingdom.

Originally published in 1984, this symposium volume, the first of its kind to deal specifically with the vegetative fungal mycelium, includes articles about the pattern of mycelial growth and differentiation, the functioning of mycelia (including nutrient and water uptake), mycelial variation, intermycelial interactions and recognition systems, and the establishment and distribution of mycelia in natural systems. It thus provides a detailed account of the basic body form responsible for the vegetative spread and absorption on nutrients and water. These subjects are clearly of both academic and commercial importance, since fungi make their impact on the environment as symbionts or as decay organisms through the activities of their mycelia.