myco: Ancient Greek μύκης múkēs (mushroom or other fungus)

biome: early 20th century, from bio (life) + ome (denoting objects or parts with a specialized nature).

Whether decaying organic matter and building soil, mobilizing mineral nutrients from sheer rock, infecting plants as pathogens, or forming mycorrhizal associations (84.4% of all land plants!), fungi shape life as we know it. Our lab studies plant mycobiomes: the community of fungi associated with plant roots and other tissues. These may be mutualists, pathogens, asymptomatic endophytes, or latent saprotrophs. Untangling the ecology of these fungi — and understanding how they may help or harm the plants they inhabit — is an adventure ~450 million years in the making.