It feeds on meat-eating fungi, is invisible to the naked eye, and was discovered by accident in a New South Wales rainforest before being named after the man who found it.
abc.net.au/news/new-mould-discovery-in-fungi-collected-from-nsw-rainforest/101812690A citizen scientist in northern New South Wales is celebrating after a new species of mould was named after him.The mould feeds off meat-eating fungi that devour insects and animalsDonovan Teal accidentally discovered the mould while collecting samples of insect-eating fungi in the rainforests around Uki in the Tweed Valley.
Mr Teal sent the fungi to the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in Brisbane and was "stoked" to learn scientists carrying out the tests had found a new mould."It's a pretty cool moment to be able to ring up Mum and say, 'Guess what, Mum? They named it after me'," Mr Teal said.The mould grows on various types of entomopathogenic fungus, and is recognised to be genetically unique.
"We know the genetics now because it has been cultured, but as to exactly what it was doing on these different types of fungi eating the insects, there's still mystery."The mould was cultured and its genetics confirmed at a plant pathology herbarium in Brisbane. "Everyone working with fungi, especially new ones, knows it's such an exciting field to be part of," Mr Teal said.Mr Teal said he had always been a "nature kid" and was able to pursue his interest in biology while doing his job as a bush regenerator.
"You see a lot of strange bugs and strange spiders, but this is another layer of weird on top of it, and once I found one type of fungus, I was keen to find the next," he said.Local news direct to your inbox
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