English

D Nunes Mateus,L Cardoso Willian,M R Da Luz Jos,C M Kasuya Maria

doi:10.5897/ajmr2014.6619

Abstract

The enrichment of edible mushrooms with lithium (Li) may be a strategy to provide forms of lithium that are more soluble and bioavailable for humans. Therefore, it is important to determine which species of fungi are able to grow in the presence of Li, and which concentrations of Li allow fungal growth. Twelve white rot fungi strains were grown in potato dextrose agar media, supplemented with 0 to 1.65 g L-1 lithium chloride (LiCl). The fungal growth rate, morphological alterations of the colonies, changes in the length of the lag phase, fungal dry mass, changes in hyphae diameter and cell length were evaluated. Most fungi had decrease in their growth rates and dry mass, and had macroscopic/microscopic morphological alterations at increasing LiCl concentration. Generally, the fungi were sensitive to LiCl. However, Pholiota nameko was moderately tolerant to LiCl and Pleurotus ostreatusroseus tolerate the highest LiCl level tested, suggesting that it is the most appropriate fungus for Li-enrichment.   Key words: Fungal enrichment, mycelial morphology, screening.&nbsp

Highlights

Lithium has an irregular distribution in the Earth’s crust (Rybakowski, 1995; Aral and Vecchio-Sadus, 2008)
The highest lithium content of wild mushroom was 12 mg kg-1 found in Thelephora vialis (Yin et al, 2012)
The lithium content found in wild mushroom seems to vary among different fungi species and regions (Vetter, 2005; Yin et al, 2012; Falandysz and Borovička, 2013)

Summary

Introduction

Lithium has an irregular distribution in the Earth’s crust (Rybakowski, 1995; Aral and Vecchio-Sadus, 2008). Some populations have a low dietary lithium intake (Rybakowski, 1995). It has been shown that the rates of rape and homicide are higher in counties with low levels of lithium in drinking water supplies (Dawson et al, 1970). The highest lithium content of wild mushroom was 12 mg kg-1 found in Thelephora vialis (Yin et al, 2012). The lithium content found in wild mushroom seems to vary among different fungi species and regions (Vetter, 2005; Yin et al, 2012; Falandysz and Borovička, 2013).

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Conclusion