Division of Molecular Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, Scotland, UK.
Environ Microbiol Rep. 2012 Jun;4(3):270-96. doi: 10.1111/j.1758-2229.2011.00283.x. Epub 2011 Oct 17.
Geomycology can be simply defined as 'the scientific study of the roles of fungi in processes of fundamental importance to geology' and the biogeochemical importance of fungi is significant in several key areas. These include nutrient and element cycling, rock and mineral transformations, bioweathering, mycogenic biomineral formation and interactions of fungi with clay minerals and metals. Such processes can occur in aquatic and terrestrial habitats, but it is in the terrestrial environment where fungi probably have the greatest geochemical influence. Of special significance are the mutualistic relationships with phototrophic organisms, lichens (algae, cyanobacteria) and mycorrhizas (plants). Central to many geomycological processes are transformations of metals and minerals, and fungi possess a variety of properties that can effect changes in metal speciation, toxicity and mobility, as well as mineral formation or mineral dissolution or deterioration. Some fungal transformations have beneficial applications in environmental biotechnology, e.g. in metal and radionuclide leaching, recovery, detoxification and bioremediation, and in the production or deposition of biominerals or metallic elements with catalytic or other properties. Metal and mineral transformations may also result in adverse effects when these processes result in spoilage and destruction of natural and synthetic materials, rock and mineral-based building materials (e.g. concrete), acid mine drainage and associated metal pollution, biocorrosion of metals, alloys and related substances, and adverse effects on radionuclide speciation, mobility and containment. The ubiquity and importance of fungi in biosphere processes underlines the importance of geomycology as an interdisciplinary subject area within microbiology and mycology.
地真菌学可以简单地定义为“真菌在对地质学具有重要意义的过程中所起作用的科学研究”，真菌的生物地球化学重要性在几个关键领域中非常显著。这些领域包括养分和元素循环、岩石和矿物转化、生物风化、真菌生源矿化形成以及真菌与粘土矿物和金属的相互作用。这些过程可以发生在水生和陆地生境中，但在陆地环境中，真菌可能对地球化学的影响最大。与光养生物、地衣（藻类、蓝细菌）和菌根（植物）的共生关系尤其重要。许多地真菌学过程的核心是金属和矿物的转化，真菌具有多种特性，可以影响金属形态、毒性和迁移性的变化，以及矿物的形成或溶解或劣化。一些真菌转化在环境生物技术中具有有益的应用，例如在金属和放射性核素浸出、回收、解毒和生物修复，以及生物矿化或具有催化或其他特性的金属元素的生产或沉积方面。当这些过程导致天然和合成材料、岩石和矿物基建筑材料（例如混凝土）的腐坏和破坏、酸性矿山排水和相关的金属污染、金属、合金和相关物质的生物腐蚀以及对放射性核素形态、迁移性和封存的不利影响时，金属和矿物的转化也可能产生不利影响。真菌在生物圈过程中的普遍性和重要性强调了地真菌学作为微生物学和真菌学中一个跨学科领域的重要性。
