The development and application of ultrastructural research in mycology

Electron microscopy has contributed a great deal to the field of mycology. Fungal ultrastructure has been, and continues to be, a key research element in the study of spore development and germination, host-pathogen interactions, nuclear behavior, and studies of subcellular organelles and organization linking structure and function. Since the earliest research in transmission electron microscopy in the 1950s, mycologists have kept pace with the developments in all areas of electron microscopy and have used them to great advantage in generating fine structural information on fungi. These recent developments include the use of scanning electron microscopy in the 1960s, X-ray microanalysis, cryopreservation and immunoelectron microscopy in the 1970s and 1980s. All of these techniques will continue to provide mycologists with the means to gain morphological and analytical data at the ultrastructural level.