Fire Loving Fungi

<p>Burn sites create unlikely food for today’s fungal topic: pyrophilous— or fire-loving, fungi. Today on the show we welcome Dr. Monika Fischer, who has been studying fungi that thrive in post-fire ecosystems. We discuss how wildfires change ecosystems, the roles that fungi play in their recovery and protection, and how scientists go about studying them.</p><p><b>Topics Covered:</b></p><ul><li>What makes a fungus a fire-adapted species?</li><li>Current state of wildfire events </li><li>Organisms and ecosystems that rely on fire</li><li>Variations in wildfires and how various fungi respond</li><li>Mycological properties of fire-adapted fungi</li><li>How fire-loving fungi are germinated and cultivated in the lab</li><li>Mycoremediation and fungal enzymology of fire-adapted fungi</li></ul><p><br/></p><p><b>Show Notes:</b></p><ul><li>Dr. Monika Fischer Website: <a href='https://sites.google.com/view/monikafischer/home'>https://sites.google.com/view/monikafischer/home</a></li><li>Dr. Monika Fischer Twitter: <a href='https://twitter.com/MonikaSFischer'>https://twitter.com/MonikaSFischer</a></li><li>NY Times “This Fire-Loving Fungi Eats Charcoal”: <a href='https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/28/science/fungus-wildfire-charcoal.html'>https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/28/science/fungus-wildfire-charcoal.html</a></li><li>Publications: <a href='https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&amp;user=RDJjNPAAAAAJ&amp;view_op=list_works&amp;sortby=pubdate'>https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&amp;user=RDJjNPAAAAAJ&amp;view_op=list_works&amp;sortby=pubdate</a></li></ul>