GENERAL ARTICLES CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 120, NO. 4, 25 FEBRUARY 2021 628 Vandana Ghormade is in the Department of Nano Bioscience, Agharkar Research Institute, Pune 411 004, India; Ejaj Pathan is in the Depart- ment of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology- Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400 076, India; Jeevan Jyoti is in the PCCF Office, HP Forest Department, Talland, Shimla 171 002, India; Ajit Vartak is in the Department of Geology and Petroleum Technology, Wadia College, Pune 411 001, India and Mukund Deshpande is in the Biochemical Sciences Division, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune 411 008, India. *For correspondence. (e-mail: mvdeshpande1952@gmail.com) Mycology and mycotechnology on postal stamps Vandana Ghormade, Ejaj Pathan, Jeevan Jyoti, Ajit Vartak and Mukund Deshpande* Mycology, the study of fungal biology, and philately, the study of postage stamps, are rarely con- nected, as they are very different activities. However, philatelic mycology can raise awareness of the facets of fungi which contribute significantly to human welfare. Fungi are photogenic and exhi- bit physiological wonders such as luminescence. They are important in biotechnology for their sec- ondary metabolites. So, stamps depicting fungi signal the recognition of problems and prospects of prosperity posed by fungi in nutrition and health, agriculture, engineering, industry and ecology. Many countries have issued thousands of stamps on fungi. India with a rich heritage of fungal diversity lags in this respect. This article hopes to inspire action by celebrating the beauty and significance of fungi in the art of philately. Keywords: Mycotechnology, mycology, mycophilately, photogenic appeal, postal stamps. PHILATELY is the collection, study and appreciation of stamps and related items. It includes research on stamps and other philatelic products. Proctor 1 suggested using philately in geography teaching. Senanayake 2 used philately to promote paediatrics, especially in priority areas. Bandopadhyay 3 described food and nutrition edu- cation through philately. Zagkotas and Niaoustas 4 used philately as a teaching aid by implementing a project in a Greek primary school. As a teaching aid, it is useful for classifying flora and fauna, and to understand their evolu- tion, history, physiology, discoveries and applications. Luther 5 extensively studied postal stamps, old postcards and other postage materials showing fungi. However, mycophilately was largely neglected till a monumental book, Philatelic Mycology: Families of Fungi in 2014 by Marasas et al. 6 found favour with both stamp-collectors and mycologists. Though many countries have now released stamps with mushrooms in natural environments, there is no standar- dized cataloguing. Stamp collectors in the United King- dom use the Stanley Gibbons Catalogue of Postage Stamps. However, the Scott Postage Stamp Catalogue is more popular. Though India refers to both catalogues, it has no stamp depicting fungi. In this article, we deal with the significance of fungal organisms and the need for mycophilately. We also highlight attempts by many coun- tries to promote mycophilately. Importance of fungi Fungi are eukaryotes, like plants and animals. The main distinguishing feature is the structural component of the fungal cell wall – chitin – a polymer. This makes fungi different from plants, which have cellulose in the cell wall. Another feature of fungi that distinguishes them from other eukaryotes is their typical nuclear division, where the nuclear membrane remains intact during mito- sis. Fungi are the second largest group of species on earth after insects. There are more than 81,000 known fungal species and recent assessments suggest that the estimated number of fungal species on earth could be 5.1 million 7 . They usually outnumber plants 6 to 1. Moreover, their physiological activities render fungi model systems in developmental studies and in biotechnology. The first applications of fungi were reported in 2000 BC from Egypt, China and Sumeria. In ancient times people used yeast, maybe unknowingly, for bread leavening and beer or wine fermentation. Today, fungi have a wide range of applications from single-cell protein production, as bio- sensors, and in cancer therapy to electricity generation. They play significant roles in all subdivisions of biotech- nology: red (e.g. antibiotic production), white/grey (e.g. organic acid fermentation), green (e.g. mushroom cultiva- tion, mycoinsecticides) and blue (e.g. oil pollution bioremediation in marine environments). Yet fungi are