As part of Bristol Fungus Day we are delighted to present this exciting talk on fungus wars by Professor Lynne Boddy! 

Decomposer fungi are rarely found growing alone in nature but usually in communities of several other fungi. Intense competition for space and resources occurs, and fungi deploy antagonistic mechanisms to obtain these – fungi fight each other! They ‘attack’ and ‘defend’ their territory using a variety of mechanisms: (1) antagonism at a distance; (2) mycoparasitism; and (3) gross mycelial interaction. Their chemical arsenal includes enzymes, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and diffusible organic compounds (DOCs). The overall outcome of their battles can be: deadlock – where neither fungus makes any headway; replacement – where one fungus takes the territory of another; and also partial and mutual replacement. There is a hierarchy of combative ability rather like a sports league. The victors vary depending on the opponents, their environment, food sources and the presence of other organisms. These battles are illustrated with studies on decay fungi in wood and soil.

Lynne Boddy is Professor of Fungal Ecology at Cardiff University UK. She has taught and researched into the ecology of fungi associated with trees and wood decomposition for 40 years. She is currently studying the fascinating communities of fungi and other organisms that rot the centres of old trees, the ash dieback fungus that is rampaging across the UK from Europe, the ways in which fungi fight each other and form communities, and how they search the forest floor for food resources and respond to their finds. She is a prolific author having co-authored Fungal Decomposition of Wood, edited six books, written well over 200 scientific papers, and is chief editor of the journal Fungal Ecology. She was (2009–2010) president of the British Mycological Society. Lynne is an ardent communicator of the mysteries and importance of the amazing hidden Kingdom of Fungi to the general public including TV, radio, popular talks, videos, articles and exhibitions. She was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in 2019 for Services to Mycology and Science Outreach.

Talks will be held in the Anglican Chapel, please turn up 10mins before the talk as we will be running a tight schedule!

All tickets are free, but any donations are appreciated! Billetto does add a small fee for donations.