Safekeeping fungi that protect plants against pests: Richard Humber, microbiologist and insect mycologist, checks for a requested fungal isolate in one of the several crowded nitrogen tanks holding the ARSEF culture collection. The collection comprises 6,500 isolates from every continent around the world.

From: Agricultural Research | Date: April 1, 2003| Author: | Copyright information

Insect mycologist Richard Humber slowly lifts the thick lid off the top of a round liquid-nitrogen tank used for super-cold storage.

Once the fog that forms when the tank's air mixes with that of the humid laboratory clears, he gazes down at the tops of the elongated plastic tubes he keeps inside. He smiles.

"These are a bunch of little jewels," he says. "We hold them very dear."

The jewels Humber speaks of aren't gemstones. They're specimens of fungi that have potential to protect plants from insects, arthropods, and nematodes. "The emphasis here," he says, "is on ...

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