Genetics

Funny Mushrooms

At nearly R 35 000 a kilogram, the legend of the cooking world, the white truffle, really deserves its title. This delicacy grows in the dark moist soil of the southern countryside in France, but is much sought after all over the world.

Although this peculiar dish holds a high reputation, it is related to many less notable cousins. The death cap is legendary for its killing power, while the “Denny” is eaten as part of South African dishes. What do all these organisms have in common? They all belong to the curious Kingdom of Fungi.

Mushrooms come in a variety of shapes, sizes, tastes and smells. This year we will be looking at this great variation. Using the barcode of life, DNA, we will be looking at the great diversity of mushrooms in and around Pretoria. We will use the DNA as an identification tool by comparing each mushroom barcode to an international databank of barcodes. Finally, we find out how these are related by doing a phylogenetic study on our data.

Participants

• Kershney Naidoo
• Mr. Markus Wilken