Abstract
Albino Grifola frondosa (Dicks.) Gray “maitake” mushrooms (described as G. albicans Imazeki and then placed in synonymy with G. frondosa) are particularly rare, and the few pertinent records are not treated in scientific publications. A field investigation carried out in Sicily (Italy) led to the collection of an unusual white Grifola specimen at the base of a living tree of Quercus pubescens Willd. s.l. The outcome of sequencing the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) indicated that it belongs to G. frondosa and provided an insight to the phylogenetic relationships within the genus. The results of nutritional composition analysis showed that the albino basidioma possesses relatively high contents of Ca, Fe, K, and Cu and is rather low in Na when compared with literature data on edible mushrooms. Vitamin (B1, B2, B3, B5, B9, and D2) contents ranged from 0.15 to 3.89 mg per 100 g of mushroom dry weight. The cold-water extract of this specimen was effective at inhibiting the growth of Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 12228 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 15442 at the maximum screening concentration of 50% v/v. In addition, the extract slowed down the ability of Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 43300 to form biofilms. According to data hereby reported, the albino G. frondosa is a culinary-medicinal mushroom with a promising exploitation potential.
Highlights
The family Grifolaceae Jülich (Polyporales, Basidiomycota) comprises only the genus GrifolaGray [1], which consists of nine species according to Index Fungorum
Albino maitake mushrooms are quite rare and the few available pertinent records do not appear in scientific publications
As regards the effect of the water extract from the albino G. frondosa on biofilm formation, the results revealed that it decreased the biofilm produced by S. aureus ATCC43300 [30], whereas it slightly enhanced biofilm formation by E. faecalis ATCC 29212, E. coli ATCC 25922, K. pneumoniae ATCC 700603, and P. aeruginosa
Summary
The family Grifolaceae Jülich (Polyporales, Basidiomycota) comprises only the genus GrifolaGray [1], which consists of nine species according to Index Fungorum. Grifola frondosa (Dicks) Gray includes several forms and varieties, such as G. frondosa f. Frondosa (Dicks.) Gray, and G. frondosa var. G. frondosa, widely known as “maitake”, is a white-rot polypore associated primarily with deciduous trees of different genera (Quercus L., Acer L., Carpinus L., Castanea Mill., Fagus L., Ulmus L.) while it appears more rarely on conifers. This species is distributed in temperate regions of North America, Europe, and Asia (Japan and China) [2]. Albino maitake mushrooms (described as G. albicans by Imazeki in 1943 [3] and placed in synonymy with G. frondosa) are quite rare and the few available pertinent records do not appear in scientific publications.
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