The mushroom-type fungi, known as basidiomycetes, play a fundamental role in our forests, where they associate with plants, take part in the carbon cycle, and also serve as food for many organisms. Since they are immobile and lack any mechanical way to defend themselves,  mushrooms have evolved chemical defenses, including the release of natural products.  For instance, the stereaceous mushroom BY1 is able to produce polyenes yellow pigments to...

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Termites are quite curious insects. Beside having social structures and building strong and sophisticated nests, some species practice fungiculture. They feed on the fungi Termitomyces, which they farm in gardens maintained by the excrement of the insects.  Nevertheless, as any garden, Termitomyces farming can suffer the invasion of  oportunistic weeds, especially the fungi Pseudoxylaria sp. Pseudoxylaria outcompetes other oportunistic fungi and Termitomyces itself...

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