SIM
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Stud Mycol 55(1): 1-12 2006
Copyright © 2006 CBS Fungal Biodiversity Centre
This Article
Free via Open Access: OA
Right arrow OA Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Rong, I. H.
Right arrow Articles by Baxter, A. P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Rong, I. H.
Right arrow Articles by Baxter, A. P.

You are free to share–to copy, distribute and transmit the work, under the following conditions:

Attribution:  You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).

Non-commercial:  You may not use this work for commercial purposes.

No derivative works:  You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work, which can be found at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/legalcode. Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder. Nothing in this license impairs or restricts the author's moral rights.

The South African National Collection of Fungi: celebrating a centenary 1905-2005

Isabella H. Rong1,* and Alice P. Baxter2

1 Biosystematics Division, ARC Plant Protection Research Institute, P. Bag X134, Queenswood, Pretoria 0121, South Africa
2 Directorate Plant Health, Department of Agriculture, P. Bag 14, Gezina 0031, South Africa

* Correspondence: Isabella H. Rong, RongI{at}arc.agric.za

The international acronym PREM denotes the South African National Collection of Fungi, which houses approximately 60 000 specimens. The collection includes material from outside South Africa and contains representatives of all the major groups of fungi excluding the yeasts and pathogens of larger animals and man. The name PREM was derived from the city in which the collection is situated, Pretoria (PRE), and the M defines the collection as being mycological. The background information and historical facts presented in this paper are based on an unpublished manuscript, prepared by the co-author and then head of the collection A.P. Baxter, for the 90th celebration of PREM.

The collection was established in 1905, when South Africa was still a British colony. The vision and hard work of the earlier scientists associated with it paved the way for the establishment of a number of present-day national research bodies. One of these, the Plant Protection Research Institute, is currently the custodian of the collection. Over time activities at PREM were influenced by socio-economic and political events, and most recently, the South African government's commitment to international biodiversity initiatives. Although the basic goals and needs to maintain PREM remained intact throughout, various phases in terms of research focus can be recognised over the past century. In the early days the emphasis was on collecting and recording of fungi, then pioneering research was done on mycotoxins and later there was an increased demand for public-good services and innovation. Since the 1980's sophisticated molecular techniques have aided in the discovery of true phylogenetic relationships of fungi, a fundamental field of systematics, that was previously impossible to explore by any other means. Against these advances, the value of reference collections is often questioned.

New technologies should, however, not be pursued in isolation from other relevant factors. Improvement of agricultural practices, knowledge sharing and the protection and conservation of biota will always be important. Even so, the success and future of natural history collections depends on continued support from governing bodies, appreciation for our biological heritage and on inputs from the scientific community.

Keywords Biosystematics / history / National Collection of Fungi / natural history collection




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 SIMHome page
R. A Samson
EDITORIAL AND REFLECTION
Stud Mycol, January 1, 2007; 57(1): 1 - 3.
[Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2006 by the CBS Fungal Biodiversity Centre.