Biotechnology

Kew Gardens to create biggest fungi collection in world

(TELEGRAPH) - Around 400,000 new specimens will be added to Kew’s existing stock of more than 800,000 specimens to form a giant scientific collection.

Researchers are confident the enormous collection of 1.25 million specimens, which would overtake the million fungi specimens held by the US National Fungus Collection, will help them develop new life-saving drugs and disease resistant crops. Statins and penicillin are among the drugs that have already been developed due to fungi.

Among the specimens being delivered is mould – Penicillium notatum - that helped Sir Alexander Fleming discover penicillin and led to the development of a raft of lifesaving antibiotics.

Others are samples of microscopic fungi that in the early 20th century were discovered to be behind the potato blight that led to the Irish Famine, and another species that led to Dutch Elm Disease.

Researchers are excited about the extent of the collection which will not only be the biggest but the most comprehensive in the world, containing more types than anywhere else.

It will provide an unrivalled resource for scientists trying to identify the properties of fungi that could lead to new medical treatments or further reveal its importance to ecosystems.

Read full story