Magnified image of a root colonised by mycorrhizal fungi (in blue) Holly Abbotts
Simply put, fungi form the bedrock of our ecosystems, and, without them, life as we know it would collapse.
Yet, despite an extraordinary recent upsurge in public enthusiasm for this most fascinating of life forms, researchers still understand relatively little about fungi. While around 160,000 species of fungi have been described to date, fungi experts at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, predict there are around 2.5 million species in total.
And that’s why, at Kew, we’re powering a revolution in fungal understanding. With support from the UK government (Defra) and Calleva Foundation, we’ve embarked on a major project with our partners at the Natural History Museum (NHM) and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE).
We’re delving deep into the DNA of the fungi species stored in the Kew Fungarium – one of the largest and most complete fungal collections in the world – as well as exploring the treasures held in our partners’ collections. Using groundbreaking technology, our experts are sequencing the DNA of the most precious of our globally important specimens, allowing us to reveal their vast diversity, and their potential to help solve the planet’s biggest challenges, from food insecurity to plastic pollution.
Make your legacy a lasting one
Kew might be best known for our beloved gardens and iconic Victorian glasshouses. But we are also one of the planet’s leading plant and fungal research institutes, home to nearly 600 science staff, working to better understand plants and fungi.
Kew’s world-renowned scientists work with partners in over 100 countries on dozens of inspiring projects, from collaborations that utilise our unparalleled collections, like this one, to local conservation schemes that support communities to create more sustainable livelihoods.
Every day, we’re harnessing our collective knowledge and unlocking Kew’s incredible historic and living collections to break new ground in botanical and mycological understanding, making way for untold real-world solutions to humanity’s most pressing problems.
, you will be part of a worldwide drive to unlock the power of plants and fungi and find lasting, nature-based solutions to everything from devastating diseases to the impacts of climate change.
Here, we share just a few, fungi-centred research projects, which are typical of the work your legacy could support.
Combatting plastic pollution
When it comes to reducing plastic pollution, fungi may well be a major part of the answer. Kew’s Dr Irina Druzhinina has been studying hundreds of fungal species that make their home on the surface of plants like Welwitschia, native to the Namibian desert. The thick, waxy leaf cuticles of these plants are made of polymers that are remarkably similar to plastic.
Kew scientist, Rosey Jarvis, in the lab studying fungal specimens under a dissecting microscope. RBG Kew
To avoid being swept away from the leaf surfaces where they live, fungi secrete enzymes that digest waxy leaf polymers, allowing for a better grip. If they can easily digest plant polymers, it stands to reason they may be able to digest plastic too. And Irina and her team have already identified more than 180 species whose enzymes could digest basic plastics in a lab setting.
Identifying the genes associated with this ability, by making use of the huge new fungal DNA dataset that Kew’s experts are currently generating, could accelerate the finding of other fungi with plastic-eating potential, meaning that a fungus-based solution to the enormous issue of plastic pollution could be not so very far away.
Medical innovations saving countless lives
Over the last century, fungi have been the source of medical innovations that have saved countless lives.
Soil microfungi like Aspergillus terreus have given us statin drugs to tackle high cholesterol, while Tolypocladium inflatum has given us cyclosporine, an immunosuppressant that has turned an organ transplant from a probable death sentence into a life-extending operation.
A recent study led by Kew’s Dr Tom Prescott has shown that we could discover a huge number of new chemicals with medical potential by searching inside the genetic code of fungal DNA. With thousands of fungal genomes now being newly sequenced at Kew, there is enormous potential for significant new medicinal discoveries.
Fungi and food security
While fungi provide huge benefits to humanity, some also pose a challenge. Plant diseases caused by fungi, for example, destroy up to 30% of global crop products each year.
Understanding fungi better may well be the key to solving this challenge, too.
A dry specimen of the honey fungus, Armillaria mellea, in Kew’s Fungarium. RBG Kew
At Kew, Dr Rowena Hill has sequenced the whole genome of several fungal endophytes (fungi that live inside plants without causing any symptoms), delving deeply into the interactions between fungi and plants by uncovering their genetic basis.
Identifying the genes that are associated with endophytes’ harmful or beneficial behaviour (and what factors cause a species to exhibit either harmful or beneficial behaviour) helps us to predict which fungi are likely to be heroes or villains in tomorrow’s world. Sequencing the DNA of Kew’s historical fungi is a major resource in this quest.
As climate change intensifies, we urgently need solutions to ensure food security.
Using fungal science, Kew is helping to prepare for future crop epidemics, and to save lives around the world.
Dr Anna Ralaiveloarisoa collecting fungi in Andasibe, Madagascar. RBG Kew
Support Kew today
By leaving a gift in your Will to Kew, you can be sure your legacy will have a profound impact. Contact us today and discover how you could help power groundbreaking science that will protect the planet with sustainable, nature-based solutions for generations to come.
Get in touch
legacies@kew.org
+44 020 8332 3249
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