Fungi – the good, the bad & the essential

Love them or hate them, fungi are integral to our lives as nature’s recyclers, plant saviours and sometimes killers, pharmacists, bakers and brewers. This episode of the University of Aberdeen's Cafe Scientifique Aberdeen City series will discuss the many different roles played by fungi in our lives.

Dr Andy Taylor's research focuses on the roles of fungi in the environment, in particular mutualistic soil fungi that are essential for the healthy growth of most terrestrial plant species. His varied research topics mirror the diversity of fungi as a group and the many functional roles that they carry out in most ecosystems. A key aspect of his work is the detection and identification of fungi in environmental samples. Since even those species that produce visible structures above ground can present considerable problems for identification, a significant part of the research is focused on the development and use of molecular tools for accurate species identifications. These tools are also used to examine spatial structuring of populations and communities at both local and continental scales. He has written over 70 papers for international journals.

This event is part of British Science Week 2015, to view the full programme of events please visit www.abdn.ac.uk/engage/nsew

For more information contact peru@abdn.ac.uk.