House of a thousand species

It’s not that we didn’t “bother”, it’s that we largely couldn’t. ID-ing of any of those things with any degree of certainty would’ve required, at the bare minimum, a compound scope with 100x magnification, assorted stains and slide preps, and ideally ability to make cultures and sequence DNA. As a researching taxonomist I theoretically had access to all those things, but 1) we were directed to evacuate work and lock down at home with very little notice; 2) there were misgivings about starting up a whole lab at home, not to mention OHS restrictions; and 3) we actually didn’t think to undertake this project until after lockdown had commenced (on day 1, after we were already stuck at home). It’s also worth noting that stuff like that blows out very easily. Microbiomes are incredibly complex, with lots of species/taxon complexes, strains and symbioses.

Now we did actually try; some molds do appear on our list to genus level (mostly ones that appeared on old left-out food and veg), and things like Coelosporium plumeriae, which is pretty obvious on frangipani leaves, were also added. I am in no doubt that, if we had the expertise, time and ability, we could’ve swelled our numbers on the microbiota. But there are lines to draw and we drew them. We don’t regret that or not holding ourselves to any higher standard than can feasibly be held against anyone else doing a project like this.

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