- Mycology
- Biotechnology
- Microbiology
- Plant pathology
- Plant biology
The Shamir Institute has the largest culture collection of edible and medicinal fungi. The collection will enable us to preform research in mushroom cultivation, ecology, taxonomy and natural product.
Currently we are researching the following subjects:
- Cultivation and domestication of the mushroom Pleurotus eryngii var ferulae in the Golan Heights and studying the association between the plant host and the mushroom.
- Studying the effect of the global warming and climate changes on the wild mushrooms of Israel.
- Utilize the national fungi collection deposited in the Shamir Institute in order to search for natural substances.
- Consolidation of a program for preserving the wild mushroom populations in Israel.
More research is needed (Lewinsohn 2016) to be studied the species of fungi under threat by:
- Habitat loss
- Loss of symbiotic hosts
- Pollution
- Land over exploitation
- Climate change
- Over harvesting
We have start to collaborate with mycological amateurs together with the Jewish National Fund and the Israeli Nature Protection Society and mycological amateurs.