Fungal Diseases That Must Be Overcome For Thanksgiving

Mycology (the study of fungi) and Plant Pathology (the study of plant diseases) can have a positive effect on everyone's lives. For example, there are fungi that can infect just about every kind of crop plant or animal, even those needed for Thanksgiving dinners. It is one of the jobs of the mycologist or plant pathologist to control or diminish the effects of fungi on these crops.

The following list of fungi affecting certain crops highlights some contributions of mycologists and plant pathologists: none of these crops could be grown profitably and be easily available for consumers for their Thanksgiving dinners without these scientists' studies of the fungi and the crop plants. Some of these fungi cause post-harvest diseases, and some infect the crops directly. Most of these diseases are not a huge problem any more under prevailing conditions, mostly due to studies of fungal life cycles and pathogenic properties by mycologists and plant pathologists - but there are always other diseases waiting to take their place!

I realize that everyone has their own Thanksgiving traditions, but I have tried to include as many as possible from a wide range of geographical areas. In the list below the italicized fungus name is on the left, and the disease that must be overcome for the Thanksgiving food to be available is on the right. There are many other diseases that affect these crops that are not included - for example there are entire books of just cranberry diseases!

**Turkey-X Disease deserves a special mention. Aflatoxin was first discovered by observing a "plague" that occurred on many turkey farms, particularly in England in the early 1960's, where the turkeys died rapidly and in great numbers. Since the causal agent for the disease was not known, it was simply called "Turkey X disease." Mycologists later discovered that the turkeys had been fed peanut meal contaminated with Aspergillus flavus and related species. Although aflatoxin is widely known for its carcinogenic properties, under the conditions present at that time these fungi produced aflatoxin in such great quantities as to rapidly kill the turkeys. This is no longer a problem since the peanut meal, if used to feed the birds, is monitored very closely for the fungus. There is no chance of turkey containing aflatoxin today.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that one of the things you're thankful for now is the work of Mycologists and Plant Pathologists! For further information on plant pathogens that affect many types of crop plants and forests and what plant pathologists are doing about them, you should visit the home page of the American Phytopathological Society - apsnet.org. For further information on what mycologists do, I highly recommend visiting the home page of The Mycological Society of America- MSAfungi.org