Spring
4
The study of life’s “fifth kingdom”: the fungi. Even though they share an equal evolutionary standing with plants and animals, to most people fungi are amongst the most mysterious and least understood of nature’s inhabitants. Just what is a fungus anyway? Where do fungi live, and what are they doing out there? This course will provide answers to questions like these, as well as provide examples of the practical uses of fungi in industry and research and of the roles that some of them play as agents of disease. Laboratory work includes methods for isolating and identifying fungi from nature, methods of genetic analysis, and methods for producing commercial products like tempeh and beer.