Production of bioactive secondary metabolites in the fruit bodies of macrofungi as a response to injury

Abstract

The conversion of secondary metabolites as a response to injury in fruit bodies of 121 species of Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes was investigated. Extracts of intact and injured specimens were compared by analysis with TLC, and by assaying their antifungal (against Nematospora coryli), antibacterial (against Bacillus brevis) and nematicidal (against Caenorhabditis elegans) activities. Significant conversions induced by injury were observed (by TLC comparison) in the extracts of 66 species. For 37 of these the extract of the injured specimen showed higher bioactivity. Of the remaining 55 species, in which no changes between the extracts of intact and injured fruit bodies were observed, 30 were found to contain bioactive compounds. The possibility that these findings reflect the presence of chemical defence systems in mushrooms, mediated by enzymatic conversions activated by physical injury, is discussed.