Bacteriofiles

This episode: Some fungi only form fruiting bodies after forest fires; where do they hide the rest of the time? At least for some of them, the answer is: inside mosses! Thanks to Daniel Raudabaugh for his contribution! Download Episode (6.2 MB, 9.0 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Nocardia brevicatena News item Takeaways Forest fires can do a lot of damage, but life grows back quickly. Certain kinds of plant seed actually only germinate after a fire, and a similar thing is true of certain kinds of fungi: they only form fruiting bodies (like mushrooms, for spreading spores) after a fire. For plants, the advantage may come from increased access to light with some or all of the canopy burned away, and fungi may benefit from less competition on the ground. But in between burn events, these fire-loving (pyrophilous) fungi seem to disappear. Where do they go? The study here sought an answer, suspecting an association with some mosses that reappeared soon after a forest fire in North Carolina in 201