A Night Out with Mycology – How Yeast and Fungi Add Culture to Our Lives

Cara N. Wilder, Ph.D.

It is a cool, crisp autumn evening. You are sitting in a downtown restaurant, gazing dreamily out the window, admiring the changing leaves and observing the occasional pedestrian hurrying by, bundled up from the chill. You begin to relax as you casually sip a glass of red wine, letting the smooth, rich liquid excite your taste buds and gradually warm your blood. In the background, a single violin begins to play a soft melody that sounds strangely familiar. As you ponder the origins of the musical piece, you are momentarily distracted by the waiter that has arrived at your table, presenting you with a warm Portobello sandwich. As you take your first bite, you savor every flavor; the subtle yeasty hue of the bun, the rich earthy tones of the Portobello mushroom, and the piquant bite of the bleu cheese dressing. You chuckle softly to yourself as you realize that your evening would not have been possible without Mycology.

Penicillium sp. Photo courtesy of the CDC

Yeast and fungi play a much larger role in our lives than commonly imagined by most individuals. For centuries, yeasts and fungi have been used in the generation of various food products and alcoholic beverages. In the preparation of the exquisite meal described above, yeast contributed to the production of the bread and wine, the Portobello mushroom is a fungus, and mold was used in the preparation of the bleu cheese dressing. Products such as bread, wine, and beer are commonly produced using various species of Saccharomyces, among other genera, which convert present fermentable sugars into ethanol and carbon dioxide. The flavor and consistency of these products are affected by the ingredients and the strain of yeast used. In contrast, bleu cheeses are commonly produced from cow’s milk, sheep’s milk, or goat’s milk cheeses that have cultures of the mold, Penicillium roqueforti or Penicillium glaucum. These molds give bleu cheeses their pungent flavor and characteristic blue tinge.

In addition to their role in fine dining, fungi have recently been implicated in shaping the musical world.  Fungal infections of trees caused by the species Physisporinus vitreus and Xylaria longipes, among others, are found to cause a decrease in wood density, ideal for creating a violin with superb acoustics.  Violins produced in this fashion, known colloquially as bioviolins, were found to be equivalent if not superior in sound quality as compared to Stradivarius violins. These latter violins are known to the musical world as the highest quality instruments made. In a recent sound quality experiment, over 90 individuals in a panel of 180 people ranked the bioviolin sound quality above that of the Stradivarius. However, only time will tell if this technique will continue to be used for the construction of violins or other wood-based instruments.

So, the next time you go out on the town for a nice meal or listen to music echoing wistfully from the body of a violin, think of Mycology. Remember, your microflora isn’t the only culture you have!