New Year Lecture by Professor Geoff Gadd
On January 4th 2002, Professor Geoffrey M. Gadd of the School of Life Sciences will present a lecture entitled Fungi in the Biosphere - Environment and Biotechnology. To be held in the Main Lecture Theatre, Biological Sciences Institute, University of Dundee at 2pm and free to the public, this presentation will outline the major roles of fungi in the environment and their application in biotechnology. The lecture is particularly appropriate for Higher and Advanced Higher/CSYS students with an interest in biology.
Britain alone has over 2500 species of larger fungi and countless numbers of species too small to be seen with the naked eye. Add to this the large group of fungi known as yeasts and we start to get an idea of the amazing biodiversity within the fungi. This means that we still know very little about many of these organisms although their activities in the biosphere underpin global nutrient cycles and have a major influence on soil fertility and plant growth. They are found almost everywhere, even in extreme and polluted environments, while several species are of great importance in biotechnology. Beer, bread, citric acid, penicillin and, of course, whisky are just some of the important products that rely on fungi for their production.
This lecture will discuss the importance and roles of fungi in the environment and will link their activities with selected examples of their biotechnological importance in medicine, food production and pollution treatment.
This joint lecture is organised by two major organisations concerned with fungi - The Institute of Biology (Scottish Branch) and the British Mycological Society. The event is appropriately hosted at the internationally acclaimed School of Life Sciences in the University of Dundee, which is at the forefront of modern research in biological sciences.
Professor Geoffrey M. Gadd is Head of the Division of Environmental and Applied Biology and Deputy Research Director in the School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee. He received the Berkeley Award of the British Mycological Society for his research work with fungi and has been awarded Fellowship of the Institute of Biology and the American Academy of Microbiology. He is an Honorary Research Professor at the Scottish Crop Research Institute and has published over 150 scientific papers and edited nine books on applied microbiology and mycology.