{"id":1476,"date":"2026-06-04T00:25:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T23:25:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/farewell-to-the-plant-kingdom-fungi-are-biologically-closer-to-humans-than-salad-greens\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T00:25:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T23:25:10","slug":"farewell-to-the-plant-kingdom-fungi-are-biologically-closer-to-humans-than-salad-greens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/farewell-to-the-plant-kingdom-fungi-are-biologically-closer-to-humans-than-salad-greens\/","title":{"rendered":"Farewell to the Plant Kingdom: Fungi Are Biologically Closer to Humans Than Salad Greens"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Despite their long-standing presence in the fruit and vegetable aisle, mushrooms share almost nothing with the plant world. DNA analyses reveal an unexpected biological kinship with the animal kingdom. Here\u2019s how science is overturning our culinary certainties.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The End of an Old Optical Illusion: Placing Mushrooms in Their Own Kingdom<\/h2>\n<p>For centuries, the apparent immobility of these organisms misled observers, who grouped them with non-flowering plants. Yet this purely visual criterion lacked scientific rigor. It was the researcher <strong>Robert Whittaker<\/strong> who formally proposed, in <strong>1969<\/strong>, to isolate these living beings in a distinct category called <strong>Fungi<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<section class=\"incontent-related\"><span class=\"incontent-related__title\">Read also<\/span> <span class=\"incontent-related__desc\">How almost invisible vibrations help some plants prepare themselves against caterpillars?<\/span><\/section>\n<p>That separation was solidified thanks to advances in modern molecular biology. Today, the scientific community unanimously acknowledges the existence of the kingdom of <strong>Mycota<\/strong>. Specialists now focus on the deep ties that bind these organic structures more tightly to animals than to plants.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Precise Biochemical Clues and a Distant Cellular Kinship Shared with the Animal World<\/h2>\n<p>Three concrete elements confirm this closeness. First, their envelope contains <strong>chitin<\/strong>, that rigid substance also used to fashion the shells of crustaceans and insects. In contrast, plants rely on cellulose to build their cells, a chemical formula utterly distinct from theirs.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, their energy metabolism bears a strong resemblance to ours. These organisms store their sugar reserves as <strong>glycogen<\/strong>, just like human muscles, whereas plants produce starch. Finally, lacking chlorophyll, they breathe oxygen and emit carbon dioxide.<\/p>\n<section class=\"incontent-related\"><span class=\"incontent-related__title\">Read also<\/span> <span class=\"incontent-related__desc\">A genetic study resolves the mystery of crocodiles once observed on Seychelles beaches<\/span><\/section>\n<p>On the tree of life, a large family named <strong>Opisthochontes<\/strong> brings together animals and fungi. Their cells share a precise anatomical feature, namely a flagellum positioned at the rear, akin to that of sperm. Our common ancestor would date back to roughly <strong>1.3 billion years<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Underground Lattice of Mycelium Quietly Shapes Forest Ecosystem Survival<\/h2>\n<p>The visible portion that we harvest in the forest represents only the reproductive organ of the organism. The essential structure unfolds underground through the <strong>mycelium<\/strong>, an immense network of microscopic filaments. This discreet web colonizes the soil and performs a vital job out of sight.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, more than 90% of terrestrial plants rely on this association known as the <strong>mycorrhizal symbiosis<\/strong>. This underground connection dramatically multiplies the absorption capacity of trees, sometimes expanding the surface explored by their roots by a thousandfold. The stability of forests hinges entirely on this invisible biological alliance.<\/p>\n<section class=\"incontent-related\"><span class=\"incontent-related__title\">Read also<\/span> <span class=\"incontent-related__desc\">Inoffensive yet terrifying: how the glow-lantern uses visual deception to stay alive<\/span><\/section>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">An Immense, Largely Unexplored Scientific Territory Home to Millions of Unknown Species<\/h2>\n<p>To date, science has cataloged between <strong>200,000<\/strong> and <strong>300,000<\/strong> distinct species across the planet. Yet this immense variety represents only a minuscule fraction of reality. Estimates place the total number of existing specimens at around <strong>1.5 million species<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>This colossal volume stands as double the total number of all plants and animals already identified on Earth. Consequently, about <strong>94% of mushrooms<\/strong> would still remain to be discovered and named. The scope for progress is enormous for contemporary researchers.<\/p>\n<p>Historically, the misclassification of this field under conventional botany has greatly hampered research. Today, mycology finally earns its rightful status as an independent science. Reframing our view of these organisms opens up exciting scientific horizons.<\/p>\n<section class=\"incontent-related\"><span class=\"incontent-related__title\">Read also<\/span> <span class=\"incontent-related__desc\">Bees master mathematics: they count the petals of flowers to optimize their daily harvest<\/span><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1632,1633,1629,1631,1635,78,1630,424,1634],"class_list":["post-1476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-biologically","tag-closer","tag-farewell","tag-fungi","tag-greens","tag-humans","tag-kingdom","tag-plant","tag-salad","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1476"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1478,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1476\/revisions\/1478"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}