“If You See Fungus, We Want It!”

With the snow gone and temperatures warming, a dozen students gathered at Adirondack Circle on a recent Sunday morning for the mycology club’s first mushroom walk of the spring season. Head forager Daniel Lyons ’29 briefed the group on their mission: To find as many specimens of fungi as possible, record observations, and prep the samples for genome sequencing. Having downloaded the iNaturalist app and stocked up on sample bags and field data slips, the group made a short trek to the Trail Around Middlebury near the College’s athletic fields. Though early in the season, the fungi were plentiful and the club gathered more than a dozen samples within an hour.

Each sample will become part of “Sequence Every Mushroom in Vermont,” a project organized by Assistant Professor of Biology Andrew Swafford and the Vermont Mycological Society. The Vermont project is part of a national effort to sequence the genome of every fungus in the United States. Despite fungi being critical to ecosystems, little is documented about them at the genetic level. The project taps the enthusiasm of citizen scientists who gather and submit samples from all over the state.

“If you see a fungus, we want it!” said Swafford. “I’m not kidding! The MiddMyco Club has streamlined everything. All you need to do is grab a kit from outside my office in Bicentennial Hall (MBH 350), make your observations on iNaturalist as you walk or hike, then drop off the fungi you’ve collected back outside my office—you don’t even have to know anything about fungi! It’s a great chill afternoon activity that ultimately helps us learn a lot about the biodiversity and ecosystems in the state. This project is part of our broader mission to engage the campus and community with meaningful science.”