PMB 110 and 110L
Lecture MW 1-2 pm 107 GPB
Labs: MW 9-12 209 GPB or  MW 2-5 pm 209 GPB


Student Resources (Updated 12-1-06)

Course description
This course, Plant Biology 110, Biology of Fungi, is designed to introduce you to the major groups of fungi: Myxomycota, Chytridiomycota, Oomycota, Zygomycota, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Fungi Imperfecti (Deuteromycota). In addition, we want you to learn how to isolate, culture and collect fungi.

Although Biology of Fungi is listed as two courses, PB 110 and PB 110L, the lecture material is designed to introduce the lab material. Both courses must be taken concurrently, and the lecture and lab are treated as one course. Therefore, lecture and lab exams contain material from both sources and students receive the same grade for both PB 110 and 110L.

Of course, there is a textbook and two hours of lecture per week to introduce you to what mycologists know about the fungi. However, the heart of the class is the laboratory, which is filled with living and collected fungi; it is here that you will learn to observe, isolate, and culture fungi. To see the industrial applications of fungi we will have two Saturday field trips, one to a winery and another to a mushroom farm. To see fungi in their native habitat, we will have a weekend field trip to Mendocino to collect mushrooms.

We will have one lecture midterm (100 points), one lab midterm (100 points), a lab final (100 points) and a lecture final (200 points) plus several lab quizes.

There are three items that you should bring to the second laboratory on Aug 30, 2006:

  1. The Textbook. Alexopoulos, Mims, and Blackwell, 1996. Introductory Mycology. 4th Edition New York: Wiley.

  2. The Lab Book. Taylor, J.W. and T. D. Bruns 2006. Biology of Fungi. Available at: Krishna Copy, University and Shattuck, 510-540-5959

  3. Your favorite system for recording your laboratory observations. If you use full-sized paper, be sure to get thick paper ("Botany paper" is best and is available in the bookstore); if you favor index cards, get large ones, 5" x 8". Good quality drawing pencils are a must, as is a good eraser. Students who integrate their lab drawings and notes with the lecture material do best in this course.
If you have Laboratory Supplies from other biology courses, please bring them as well:
  • 1 tweezers, medium points
  • 1 scalpel, fine point
  • 1 soft cloth or old dish towel (for cleaning slides)
  • 1 metric scale ruler
  • Drawing pencils 5” x 8” blank index cards or heavy, 8” x 11” drawing or “botany” paper

Instructors

Teaching Assistants
    John Taylor
        321A Koshland Hall
        642-5366
        jtaylor@nature.berkeley.edu
        Office Hours: Tue 1-2
    Kabir Peay
        321 Koshland Hall
        643-4282
        kpeay@nature.berkeley.edu
        Office Hours: Mon 11-12
   Tom Bruns
        321C Koshland Hall
        642-7987
        pogon@berkeley.edu
        Office Hours: Tue-Thr 12-1
    Tom Sharpton
        321 Koshland Hall
        642-8441
        sharpton@berkeley.edu
        Office Hours: Thurs 2-3

If you can't make these office hours, please email us for an appointment.

Course Material


Links:
Mycology at Berkeley - fungi are studied in many labs across campus
Other mycological links

This website was originally designed and created in 2000 by Antonio Izzo.

last updated: December 1 2006