The life and times of domesticated cheese-making fungi
Thursday, September 24, 2015 - 11:30
in Biology & Nature
People sure love their cheeses, but scientists have a lot to learn about the fungi responsible for a blue cheese like Roquefort or a soft Camembert. Now researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on September 24 have pieced together the story of those Penicillium fungi, based on the genomes of 14 fungal species. The findings reveal an important role for the horizontal transfer of genes from one species to another in the fungi's ability to trade their freedom in for the domesticated life.