Warning!!! Deadly Swimming Molds: Invades Crops Causes Billions In Lost Revenues And Millions Starve To Death

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Article Title:

Warning!!! Deadly Swimming Molds: Invades Crops Causes Billions In Lost Revenues

And Millions Starve To Death

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Ok the title is a bit over the top but in a round about way

it is true. Many swimming molds live in and swim through the

thin film of water on wet plant leaves and ruin many

important crops during extra wet growing seasons. These

molds often have a very negative effect on agriculture and

are directly responsible for the deadly Irish Potato Famine.

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Distribution Date and Time: 2009-11-24 10:00:00

Written By: Daryl Watters

Copyright: 2007-2009

Contact Email: mailto:daryl.watters@...

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Warning!!! Deadly Swimming Molds: Invades Crops Causes Billions In Lost Revenues

And Millions Starve To Death

Copyright © 2007-2009 Daryl Watters

A Accredited Mold Inspection Service, Inc.

http://www.floridamoldinspectors.us/

Ok the title is a bit over the top but in a round about way it is

true. Many swimming molds live in and swim through the thin film

of water on wet plant leaves and ruin many important crops during

extra wet growing seasons. These molds often have a very negative

effect on agriculture and are directly responsible for the deadly

Irish Potato Famine.

Some make their homes in moist frog skin and cause a deadly

disease that has been decimating frog populations around the

world for several decades now. While others cause a common fuzzy

white growth of mold on tropical fish.

These molds in at least some stages of their complex life cycles

propel themselves through water with the aid of tiny whip like

structures called flagella. Flagella are those long whip like

structures that are found on some cells such as sperm cells and

are one celled plant like Eugenia protozoans which push

themselves through water.

In his book, " The Fifth Kingdom " , Dean Kendrick noted

mycologist (mold biologist) discusses three phyla (large

groupings) of swimming molds:

1) PHYLUM CHYTRIDIOMYCOTA

The first group is known as chytridiomycota these are true fungi

and they have a single flagellum at the rear of the cell, this

flagellum propels the mold cell through the water just like the

flagellum at the rear of a sperm cell propels sperm cells. Around

1998, Joyce Longcore determined that a type of chytridiomycete

mold was causing the death of many frogs around the world by

infecting their skin. You may not have heard of it but widespread

frog deaths have been a serious concern for decades now.

2) PHYLUM HYPHOCHYTRIOMYCOTA

The 2nd group that Dean goes on to discuss is the kingdom

Chromista phylum hyphochytriomycota. They have a single hairy

flagellum at the front. Though similar to the above molds, these

are not true molds.

3) PHYLUM OOMYCOTA

The Third group is the kingdom Chromista phylum oomycota, they

seem to be split and cannot make a clear decision on if it is

better to have one smooth flagellum at the rear or to have a

hairy one at the front, so the oomycetes have opted for two

flagella at the side, one of the two is a hairy flagellum that

points to the front and the other is a smooth one that points to

the rear.

Oomycetes make up the water molds that cause many common fungal

infections in fish including tropical aquarium fish, as well as

downy mildew that cause serious crop damage around the world

every year. Most importantly oomycetes caused the Irish Potato

Famine. This famine caused the death of one million Irish people

and caused millions to emigrate from Ireland including the

ancestors of Al McNamara of Abode Inspections, one of America's

first ASHI home inspectors. He was my mentor and introduced me to

the home inspection field in 1993.

Some of the above organisms have a flagellum during its

reproductive state only while a few exist as a single celled

flagellated mold its entire life. Most of the above live in

water, moist soil, or in the thin film of water on wet plant

leaves. A few even live on the surface of single grains of flower

pollen. Obviously, none of the above water molds are common in

moldy homes. However, it is interesting to understand that these

microscopic molds swim and cause serious negative impacts on

humans, plants, and animals around the world.

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Daryl Watters is president of A Accredited Mold Inspection

Service, Inc. He provides home, mold, and indoor air quality

investigations in South Florida. He is also the creator of

MIR forms designed to aid inspectors in the production of

computer generated indoor air quality and mold inspection

reports. For more information visit:

http://www.florida-mold-inspection.com/

http://www.floridamoldinspectors.us/

http://florida-mold-inspection.com/mold_inspection_Florida.html