Abstract
Spalting fungal pigments have shown potential in technologies ranging from green energy generation to natural colorants. However, their unknown toxicity has been a barrier to industrial adoption. In order to gain an understanding of the safety of the pigments, zebrafish embryos were exposed to multiple forms of liquid media and solvent-extracted pigments with concentrations of purified pigment ranging from 0 to 50 mM from Chlorociboria aeruginosa, Chlorociboria aeruginascens, and Scytalidium cuboideum. Purified xylindein from Chlorociboria sp. did not show toxicity at any tested concentration, while the red pigment dramada from S. cuboideum was only associated with significant toxicity above 23.2 uM. However, liquid cultures and pigment extracted into dichloromethane (DCM) showed toxicity, suggesting the co-production of bioactive secondary metabolites. Future research on purification and the bioavailability of the red dramada pigment will be important to identify appropriate use; however, purified forms of the blue-green pigment xylindein are likely safe for use across industries. This opens the door to the adoption of green technologies based on these pigments, with potential to replace synthetic colorants and less stable natural pigments.
Highlights
Spalting fungi are a specific group of wood decay fungi that have the ability to internally color wood [1]
Aspen media resulted in less mortality than maple media, and higher concentrations of maple media resulted in more deaths for pigments from most fungal species
S. cuboideum was the only solidified and pure pigment associated with significant toxicity in zebrafish, though with a relatively high LD50 value, making it unlikely to affect humans
Summary
Spalting fungi are a specific group of wood decay fungi that have the ability to internally color wood [1]. The coloration that they cause can be classified into three types: bleaching, zone lines, and pigmentation. Pigmentation is caused by ascomycete fungi through the generation of secondary metabolites that cause coloration in wood. Known colors produced by these fungi include blue-green produced by Chlorociboria spp. [2,3,4], red from Scytalidium cuboideum Ellis) Sigler and Kang [5], and yellow from Scytalidium ganodermophthorum Sigler and Kang [6], among others. Beginning in the 15th century, wood stained blue-green by fungi from the genus Known colors produced by these fungi include blue-green produced by Chlorociboria spp. [2,3,4], red from Scytalidium cuboideum (Sacc. and Ellis) Sigler and Kang [5], and yellow from Scytalidium ganodermophthorum Sigler and Kang [6], among others.
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