Oral Presentation Australian Society for Microbiology Annual Scientific Meeting 2013

My Top 10 Fungi (#172)

David Ellis 1
  1. Mycologist, PANORAMA, SA, Australia

The study of mycology undergoes constant change.  Mycologists have always dreamed of having a natural classification of fungi that reflected true taxonomic relationships and when I started out 40 years ago, the electron microscope was the new tool to study fungal taxonomy.  However today we now have an array of new molecular tools that will allow younger mycologists to finally achieve this aim (many past mycologists would be very envious).  This presentation will highlight the 10 most influential fungi of my career in mycology.  Many have also had a profound effect on human and animal health.  It all started in 1971, in the Botany Department at La Trobe University, where I studied the ecology and ultrastructure of fungi belonging to the genera, Phomopsis, Epicoccum and Torula.  This lead to a major interest in thermophilic mould genera, such as Thermomyces, Thermoascus, Aspergillus, Rhizopus, and Chaetomium; many of which were recognised human pathogens.  In 1978, I was employed by the Adelaide Children’s Hospital where I meet Geraldine Kaminski an eminent medical mycologist.  This was my introduction to dermatology and the dermatophytes, like Microsporum canis and Trichophyton rubrum.  The arrival of AIDS, fluconazole, Candida and Cryptococcus in the early nineties transformed mycology into clinical medicine (overnight mycology became important).  The advent of antiretroviral therapy for AIDS, heralded the era of invasive mould infections caused by Aspergillus, Scedosporium, Fusarium and the zygomycetes, primarily in high risk haematology, bone marrow transplant and solid organ transplant patients.  The past decade has also seen the introduction of standardised antifungal susceptibility testing, new antifungal agents, rapid non-culture diagnostics and molecular typing and identification methods.  It’s truly an exciting time to be in mycology.  I would also like to acknowledge and thank the numerous colleagues that I have had the privilege to work with both in Australia and overseas.