A few weeks ago I happened on an article mentioning Neurospora, a bread mold fungus, and I remembered using it in a college biology class. It is so interesting and beautiful to observe through the microscope. In 1958 Beadle and Tatum won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work in the 1930s on the relationship between genes and enzymes in the non-pathogenic Neurospora. These early studies on Neurospora initiated the important development of biochemical genetics and molecular biology. The properties that make Neurospora a good model for scientific studies are its fast growth rate, ease of culture, simple nutritional requirements, regular Mendelian genetics, susceptibility to mutagenesis, and other factors. Neurospora is beautiful to observe and fun for experimentation. Left and right brain collided in creating this artwork.

Ode to Neurospora 11″ x 14″