Biological Warfare - Soil: Reflections on the Basis of our Existence - page 101

We use many other soil organisms to produce medicines. The earthy smell we
experience from rain after a long dry spell comes from special bacteria known as
actinomycetes that grow in long strands reminiscent of fungal hyphae. When the
ground dries out they emit spores containing geosmin, the substance that gives off
the characteristically earthy aroma. It is these spores that we smell. Actinomycetes
are behind many different types of antibiotic. The discovery of streptomycin rev-
olutionised the treatment of tuberculosis, a widespread disease in Europe in the
nineteenth and early twentieth century. Streptomycin is formed by members of the
Streptomyces family, which includes various species with anti-bacterial properties.
Soil fungi have also proven to have health benefits for humans. In the 1970s,
Swiss pharmaceuticals company Sandoz asked staff at its Basel office to bring
soil samples back from their holidays. One of the samples, from Hardangervidda
in Norway, contained hidden properties that scientists were able to develop into
a lifeline drug for people with transplanted organs. When isolated from the soil
Arts of war . Species engage in a territorial struggle as soon as there is access to energy and nutri-
tion. Capability to defend a patch is critical. When different fungi meet in a piece of wood, like
the wooden tray in the picture, they secrete toxic phenolic substances that form black lines in the
wood. Each individual becomes its own country, like on a map