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Punk's not dead. Fungi for tinder at the Neolithic site of La Draga (NE Iberia).

ABSTRACT: This paper presents the study of the fungi remains preserved in the waterlogged deposits of the Neolithic site of La Draga. These resources had the potential of being used as food and medicine, but also as tinder. Fire was without a doubt one of the most important resources for past people. It was used for lighting, heating, processing food and other materials, cooking and protection, and also possessed social and ritual significance. Hearths are one of the most common features at archaeological sites, but very often little attention is paid to the question of how these fires were lit, and they are seldom reflected in the archaeological record. In order to produce fire by percussion, an intermediate material is required between the sparks and the fuel. Fruiting bodies of fungi are a potential form of tinder, but are less inclined to be well-preserved than other materials. This paper presents the fungal fruiting bodies found at the Neolithic site of La Draga and discusses the meaning of their presence within the archaeological context of the site and European Prehistory.

SUBMITTER: Berihuete-Azorin M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5918798 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Punk's not dead. Fungi for tinder at the Neolithic site of La Draga (NE Iberia).

Berihuete-Azorín Marian M Girbal Josep J Piqué Raquel R Palomo Antoni A Terradas Xavier X

PloS one 20180425 4

This paper presents the study of the fungi remains preserved in the waterlogged deposits of the Neolithic site of La Draga. These resources had the potential of being used as food and medicine, but also as tinder. Fire was without a doubt one of the most important resources for past people. It was used for lighting, heating, processing food and other materials, cooking and protection, and also possessed social and ritual significance. Hearths are one of the most common features at archaeological ...[more]

PMID: 29694409

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Project description:BackgroundInsects are well known vectors of human and animal pathogens and millions of people are killed by mosquito-borne diseases every year. The use of insecticides to target insect vectors has been hampered by the issues of toxicity to the environment and by the selection of resistant insects. Therefore, biocontrol strategies based on naturally occurring microbial pathogens emerged as a promising control alternative. The entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana is well characterized and have been approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as a pest biological control method. However, thousands of other fungi are unexploited and it is important to identify and use different fungi for biocontrol with possibly some vector specific strains. The aim of this study was to identify new fungal entomopathogens that may be used as potential mosquito biocontrol agents.MethodsCadavers of arthropods were collected from pesticide free areas and the fungi associated isolated, cultured and identified. Then the ability of each isolate to kill laboratory insects was assayed and compared to that of B. bassiana.ResultsIn total we have isolated and identified 42 fungal strains from 17 different arthropod cadavers. Twenty four fungal isolates were cultivated in the laboratory and were able to induce sporulation. When fungal spores were microinjected into Drosophila melanogaster, eight isolates proved to be highly pathogenic while the remaining strains showed moderate or no pathogenicity. Then a selection of isolates was tested against Aedes mosquitoes in a model mimicking natural infections. Only one fungus (Aspergillus nomius) was as pathogenic as B. bassiana and able to kill 100 % of the mosquitoes.ConclusionThe obtained results are encouraging and demonstrate the feasibility of this simple approach for the identification of new potential mosquito killers. Indeed, it is essential to anticipate and prepare biocontrol methods to fight the expansion of mosquitoes' habitat predicted in certain geographical areas in association with the occurring climatic changes.

Dataset Information

Punk's not dead. Fungi for tinder at the Neolithic site of La Draga (NE Iberia).

Publications

Punk's not dead. Fungi for tinder at the Neolithic site of La Draga (NE Iberia).

Similar Datasets

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