From Nature to Art or visceversa?

From Nature to Art or visceversa? The MARVELOUS fungi

Fascinating fungi kingdom

Undeniably beautiful under the microscope

Nature created them with wisdom

Growing inside our bodies resembles the uncertainty of walking along a tightrope

Irrevocably, life depends on their metabolism.

Estella Sanchez-Guerrero

I have always been fascinated by nature. Simply, we human beings would not exist without our microscopic allies and foes.

“Life would not long remain possible in the absence of microbes.”—Louis Pasteur

Perfection is a synonym of Nature. In turn, Nature's splendor is mirrored on all its creatures. Mycology (the scientific study of Fungi) Laboratory taught me how to love Fungi. This is how my fascination on mold began. Until then, I had only seen organisms visible to my eyes (flowers and animals), so the concept of organisms invisible to the naked eye was difficult to comprehend. It was only when I was handed out a petri dish with a black, weird, fussy looking thing growing in it. "Now, you're going to learn how to visualize the fungus you see in the culture plate under the microscope" said the Professor enthusiastically, then, she continued : "Lactophenol cotton blue (LPCB) is used in wet mount preparation. It is useful in the recognition and presumptive identification of fungi". Thus, after many failed attempts, I managed to observe "intricate lines and dots". With time, I learned that these are the hyphae and spores. Later, I was able to recognize microscopic structures unique to each specie. The beauty of these structures took my breath away. I was in love with fungi.

Aquarela painting? It might be correct. This is Penicillium marneffei.

It certainly looks like a piece of art, known as Aureobasidium pullulans.

"Small eggs on a branch". A hand painting made by my daughter. Incorrect, please try again ! Phialophora verrucosa.

Blue flowers anyone? Yes please! Do you have these in pink or purple? Of course, we cater for everyone! Hi Aspergillus niger.

A very white Christmas tree named Trichoderma harzianum.

Blowing dandelions? Let's think twice Mr. Aspergillus niger.

Is it harvest season yet? Penicillium spp season!

Hey there, allow me introduce myself: "I'm not a plant or a bug. I'm the spectacular Pestalotiopsis spp.

Look at these adorable mini sunny side eggs? Well this is actually fungus called Malassezia globosa.

Fancy a lollipop of Absidia spp?

Blue baby cockroaches? Make sure your eyes aren't deceiving you. Although one can't negate their physical resemblance, these blue babies are known as "ringworm". This is a fungal infection of the skin caused by Microsporum gypseum.

"Leaves on a branch moving with the wind". Nice to meet you Fusarium verticillioides.

Pebbles in the sand? Without these budding friends making bread would not be possible. Hi buddy Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

A hand with long fingers? If you love blue cheese, you have, therefore, eaten this blue mold. You're delicious Penicillium roqueforti.

Appreciate

Credits:

Created with images by Illuvis - "dung-cannon fungi micro-fungi" • adege - "mold the formation of mold moldy" • user1469083764 - "starry sky van gogh oil painting" • PDPhotos - "stilton blue cheese blue mold mold" • chrissmith12 - "photoshop mushrooms psychedelic" • kayelleallen - "wallpaper antique damaged" • Huskyherz - "fly agaric mushroom red fly agaric mushroom". "Aquarela painting" taken from: CDC/Dr. Libero Ajello, Courtesy: Public Health Image Library. "piece of art" taken from: Aureobasidium pullulans Wikimedia Commons. "small eggs on a branch" taken from: Conidia-laden_conidiophores_of_Phialophora_verrucosa Wikimedia Commons . "flowers anyone" -"blue" by Bfl Bozfalo, Flickr. "pink" Aspergillus niger infection Common Wikimedia. "purple" by CDC/Dr. Lucille K. Georg, Courtesy: Public Health Image Library. "white Christmas tree" taken from: Ascomycota _Trichoderma_harzianum Wikipidea. "blowing dandelions" by: Kathie Hodge, Flickr. "harvest season" taken from: File:Asco1013 from Wikimedia commons, by Jon Houseman. "Pestalotiopsis spp" by: Kathie Hodge, Flickr. "sunny side eggs" taken from: AJC1, Flickr. "lollipop" taken from: CDC/Dr. Lucille K. Georg Wikipidea. "Cockroaches" by Miguel A. Padrinan, Pexels. "ringworm" taken from: alchetron.com/Microsporum-gypseum by K Nishimura. "wind" taken from: CDC/Dr. Libero Ajello acquired from Public Health Image Library . "budding" taken from: Saccharomyce cerevisiae Wikimedia Commons. "blue mold" taken from Penicillium roqueforti mould The court yard dairy .