Australian fungi and bacteria taking aim at Fall Armyworm
CSIRO
2025.03.14
It’s always a bit of a lucky dip when you go to a library – especially if the library is a collection of fungi and bacteria!
Reaching into a freezer to pull out a sample of freeze-dried fungal spores stored at minus 80 degrees was the start of a search for an Australian fungi that could kill this serious insect pest.
Some of the fungi were collected before our researcher was born. Many were based on taxonomic classifications that had changed. And it wasn’t always clear how they’d been identified – whether by the collector or by the fungi librarian.
It’s always a bit of a lucky dip when you go to a library – especially if the library is a collection of fungi and bacteria!
Reaching into a freezer to pull out a sample of freeze-dried fungal spores stored at minus 80 degrees was the start of a search for an Australian fungi that could kill this serious insect pest.
Some of the fungi were collected before our researcher was born. Many were based on taxonomic classifications that had changed. And it wasn’t always clear how they’d been identified – whether by the collector or by the fungi librarian.
Read more here.