‘Fungi are often found in damp places; that is why they are shaped like umbrellas.’

This schoolboy howler, possibly aprocryphal, summarizes the parlous state of knowledge about fungi that all too often exists in university-level students, and it is with the aim of counteracting the perceived low status of fungal biology, in contrast to the biology of animals, plant and bacteria, that this book was conceived. It is our goal to demonstrate that fungal research is dynamic, active and exciting. Fungi have played major roles in developing central concepts in biology (see Chapter 1) and continue to be vital model organisms in many areas of research. They have vital roles in animal and plant disease, ecology and biotechnology.

The key to the resurgence of fungal biology has undoubtedly been the development of molecular biology tools for these organisms. A theme of this book is that molecular biology is almost always a vital tool in current research. Part of the reason for the difficulty in studying fungi is their diversity. This has made a succinct, useful definition of fungi impossible. The definition of fungi as the organisms studied by mycologists is an aphorism designed to confuse. Such confusion is now readily explained since, largely through the use of molecular tools (see Chapter 2) the relationship between the diverse fungal groups has become much clearer.

The rest of this book concentrates on the area of mycology where research is substantial and, largely using molecular biology, a detailed functional understanding is emerging.