Fleshy Fungi Research Articles

Investigating the Cardio-protective Activity of Volvariella volvacea in Isoproterenol-induced Myocardial Infarction Using Animal Model: An In vivo Approach

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is a severe cardiovascular condition characterized by impaired blood flow to the heart muscle, leading to tissue damage and dysfunction. Among different natural resource, mushrooms are now becoming more attractive because of its strong nutritional value and therapeutic potentiality. Wild edible fleshy fungi like Volvariella volvacea have been instrumental in preventing and treating chrome diseases. Hence, this study was carried out to evaluate the cardio-protective activity of Volvariella volvacea in isoproterenol-induced myocardial infarction using animal model. Twenty five (25) male wistar rats were randomly grouped into five classes (A, B, C, D and E) of five rats each. Groups A, B and C were pre-treated with 100mg/kg, 200mg/kg and 400mg/kg of Volvariella volvacea extract respectively. Group D was administered 10 mg of lisinopril (standard drug), this served as the positive control group while group E was administered 0.2 ml distilled water, and this served as the negative control group. All the rats were intraperitoneally induced with 150 mg of isoproterenol after fourteen days (two weeks) of pretreatment. Cardiac biomarker (lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)), was measured to assess cardiac injury, using standard method while lipid bioassay such as high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), triglycerides (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) were assayed using standard assay kits. Results showed that rats pre-treated with Volvariella volvacea extract showed significant effect on cardiac biomarkers compared to the control group. Results showed a significant increase (P<0.05) in high density lipoproteins (HDL) levels and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities with a significant decrease (P>0.05) in low density lipoproteins (LDL) and triglyceride levels in a dose-dependent manner (100<200<400 mg/kg body weight) among the extract treated groups when compared to the untreated control group. However, total cholesterol levels of extract treated groups showed no significant difference when compared with the untreated control group. This study has shown that extract of Volvariella volvacea could help to mitigate cardiovascular diseases and could be used to produce plant based products to combat Ischemic heart disease, and consequently improving general wellbeing.

Primordial initiation, yield and yield component traits of two genotypes of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus spp.) as affected by various rates of lime

Mushrooms are fleshy fungi valued globally for their nutritional and medical benefits. The study was conducted at Ebonyi State University Mushroom Center, Abakaliki, to determine an optimum level of limestone (CaCO3) on the genotypes for maximum growth and yield. The experiment was carried out as a split-plot experiment in a completely randomized design (CRD) with the use of Oyster mushroom variety. The two genotypes (GI and GII) were placed in the whole plot while limestone was placed in the sub-plot which consisted of five rates of CaCO3(Og,5 g, 10 g, 15 g and 20 g). Sawdust and rice husk substrates were used at the ratio of 60:40 and sterilized for six hours at 121 °C using the steam sterilization cylinder. The media bags were off–loaded after one day and allowed to further cool for another day before inoculation. The cultured spawn was used to inoculate the media upon cooling at room temperature. Data were collected on agro-morphological parameters such as primordial initiation, stalk height, stalk diameter, number of branches, number of fruits, number of productive bags, fresh and dry weights, and subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA). The result obtained indicated that there was a significant difference (P < 0.05) between the two genotypes studied in all parameters except the dry weight of the mushroom. Also, the various rates of CaCO3 had a significant difference (P < 0.05) in most agro-morphological traits except stalk diameter, number of fruits and fresh weight. However, the interaction of the whole plot (genotype) and sub-plot (lime rates) showed no significant difference (P > 0.05) in all parameters evaluated except the stalk diameter. Genotype I initiated more primordial compared to primordial initiation in genotype II and they differed significantly (p < 0.05) from each other. More so, the result showed that increasing the rate of CaCO3 from 0 to 5 g significantly increased the primordial initiation from 17 to 22. However, further increase in lime rates above 5 g significantly reduced the primordial initiation from 22 to 15. It was concluded that the 5 g rate of limestone produced the best primordial initiation. Therefore, genotype I and 5 g of CaCO3 were recommended. There was also a strong relationship between the primordial initiation and most growth and yield components traits studied. There was a significant positive correlation between primordial initiation and stalk height (r = 0.799*), stalk diameter (r = 0.692*), number of mushroom branches (r = 0.773*), number of productive bags (r = 0.888*), number of fruits (r = 0.810*), fruit weight (r = 0.918*) and dry weight (r = 0.916*). Ideal conditions that would guarantee more primordial initiation for higher yield were recommended.

Ethnomycological study of wild edible and medicinal mushrooms in district Jammu, J&K (UT), India

BackgroundUnion Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has a rich tradition of usage of wild edible mushrooms (WEMs) for culinary and medicinal purposes. But very few studies, restricted to some regions of the Union Territory, have been conducted to enlist the WEM. District Jammu has never been explored for WEM. Moreover, the quantification of the traditional knowledge of WEM has not been carried out as yet in J&K. Therefore, the present study was conducted in the Jammu district with the aims of enlisting the WEM and its usage, finding the most used WEM, and enumerating the consensus of usage for a species and associated knowledge.MethodsA total of 192 informants between the age of 25 and 87 years were interviewed. The collected information was organized and arranged based on use reports for quantitative analysis. The cultural importance index (CI) and factor informant consensus (Fic) were calculated to estimate the cultural importance and to test homogeneity of information and knowledge sharing about WEM, respectively. Analysis of variance was used to evaluate the significance of differences in the usage of WEM among different informant categories.ResultsResults of the present study show that the locals were having knowledge of fourteen fleshy fungi that are mainly utilized for culinary purposes. They also stated various medicinal values of some of these fungi. Agaricaceae and Lyophyllaceae were the most used families, and Termitomyces (5 species) was the most represented genus. Based on CI values, Termitomyces sp. (CI 0.57) was the most important and diversely used species. Termitomyces heimii, Termitomyces clypeatus, and Termitomyces striatus var. annulatus were the other culturally important and frequently consumed species by the locals. More than 78.6% of these WEM were new records as culinary and medicinal for J&K (UT). The values of factor informant consensus (Fic) varied between 0.98 (culinary) and 0.76 (skin diseases). Females, elders, and informants who have not attended schools were having significantly (P < 0.05) higher information regarding WEM.ConclusionThe inhabitants of district Jammu had good knowledge of WEM, but no documentation, lying of most of the information with elders and uneducated people, and destruction of forests and other natural habitats of WEM pose a serious threat of losing this valuable information in near future. An ardent need is to educate locals regarding regionally available WEM. Further studies are recommended for developing protocols of cultivation of these WEM so that their future availability is ascertained along with creating income resources for the local population.

Mushrooms (Basidiomycetes) as a significant source of biologically active compounds for malaria control

Mushrooms represent a large family of fleshy fungi that have been of high interest since ancient ages due to their medicinal and nutritional importance. Therefore, it can represent a significant source of bioactive compounds in malaria control. The few numbers of studies on &lt;i&gt;in vitro&lt;/i&gt; antiplasmodial and insecticidal properties of their extracts and chemical constituents led to interesting results reported in numerous scientific publications. This review aims to provide a comprehensive compilation of literature up to 2021 on the antiplasmodial, insecticidal as well as cytotoxic chemical constituents of medicinal mushrooms that can help in the management of malaria both against the parasite &lt;i&gt;Plasmodium falciparum&lt;/i&gt; and the mosquitoe &lt;i&gt;Anopheles stephensis&lt;/i&gt; acting as a vector of malaria through its bites. For this purpose, some searches have been done in some online libraries using keywords like Basidiomycete, mushroom, malaria, &lt;i&gt;Plasmodium&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;Anopheles&lt;/i&gt; and antiplasmodial without language restriction. Among the reported compounds, 51 selected ones displayed significant antiplasmodial potency with IC&lt;sub&gt;50&lt;/sub&gt; values lower than 10 μM against &lt;i&gt;P. falciparum&lt;/i&gt; strains sensitive or resistant to chloroquine. For instance, ganoderic acid AW1 demonstrated a strong antiplasmodial activity with IC&lt;sub&gt;50&lt;/sub&gt; of 257.8 nM against &lt;i&gt;P. falciparum&lt;/i&gt; D6, while strong activities were displayed by ganoweberianones A (IC&lt;sub&gt;50&lt;/sub&gt; = 0.050 μM) and B (IC&lt;sub&gt;50&lt;/sub&gt; = 0.46 μM) against &lt;i&gt;P. falciparum&lt;/i&gt; K1. Moreover, some mushroom methanol extracts demonstrated good larvicidal and ovicidal activities against &lt;i&gt;Anopheles stephensis&lt;/i&gt;. This paper provides further insights into the development of new antiplasmodial drugs or new potent eco-friendly pesticides to control mosquito vectors.

Diversity and Distribution of Wild Fleshy Fungi in District Jammu, J&amp;K, India

Fungi, the most diverse group of organisms, are very important for the nutrient cycling of an ecosystem. Fleshy fungi are described as non- photosynthetic hyphal eukaryotes which form macroscopic fruiting bodies. They are mostly saprophytic, inhabiting different substratum and occurring in different seasons. The present study was conducted in five locations of district Jammu to study the diversity, distribution and seasonal availability of fleshy fungi. The results shows that a total of 45 taxa belonging to 27 genera spread over 17 families and 7 orders were found in the study area. Agaricaceae was the most dominant family represented by 18 species. Bajalta had the maximum diversity with highest number of species (15), Menhinick's richness (3.87), Margalef's richness (5.17) and Shannon's diversity (2.71). Humicolous i.e. species preference humic soil was the most common (55.6%) habitat for the macrofungus. The Principal Component Analysis also confirmed that humicoulous fleshy fungi are the driving habitat of the study area and the two agricultural sites Arnia and R.S. Pura are having close affinity. The availability of the fleshy fungi in the five sites varied significantly (ANOVA; F = 13.32 and P &lt; 0.001) and rainy season (July to September months) was the most preferred season.

The Growth Morphology and Yield of Grey Oyster Mushrooms (Pleurotus sajor-caju) Subjected to Different Durations of Acoustic Sound Treatment

Pleurotus sajor-caju (grey oyster mushroom) is a typical edible fleshy fungi. It has fruiting bodies shape like an oyster that contain high nutrient such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals and multivitamins. Due to its high nutritional values, the demand of grey oyster mushrooms keeps increasing. In this study, the effect of different durations and intervals of acoustic sound treatment on growth morphology, yield enhancement and the quality of the mushroom were studied. Using sound of fire cracker at constant intensity of 75 dB, four different acoustic sound treatments had been applied on the mushroom bags which were 5 pops at 5-day interval, 15 pops at 5-day interval, 5 pops at 10-day interval and 15 pops at 10-day interval and mushroom bags without any sound treatment acted as control. The results showed that the controls had longer time for mycellium to fill-up the bags compared to sound treated bags. Besides, controls also showed lower yield in terms of number of fruiting bodies and biological efficiencies (%) compared to all acoustic sound treated bags. However, 15 pops at 10-day interval had the shortest time taken to complete all the growth stages (mycellium growth, emergence of pinhead and formation of fruiting bodies). For colour of the mushroom, there were significant differences (P<0.05) in L* values for 15 pops at 5-day interval and no significant different (P>0.05) was observed for a* (redness) and b* (yellowness) values. Controls had the highest firmness value compared to mushroom with sound treatment. In summary, 15 pops at 10-day interval was the best treatment duration and interval as it took the shortest time for different growth stages with the greatest yield of mushrooms.

A Checklist of the Non-gilled Fleshy Fungi (basidiomycota) of Kerala State, India

Mycotaxon is pleased to add to our ‘web-list’ page the following new annotated species distribution list under Asia (India): A checklist of the non-gilled fleshy fungi (Basidiomycota) of Kerala State, India by T.K. Arun Kumar, Anjitha Thomas, Krishnapriya Kuniyil, Salna Nanu, Vinjusha Nellipunath. This brings to 131 the number of free access Fungae now available on our website: http://www.mycotaxon.com/mycobiota/index.html

Ancient Food Habits Dictate that Food Can Be Medicine but Medicine Cannot Be "Food"!!

Background: Extensive surveys of several population settlements in different parts of India—covering plains, mountains, valleys, river banks and deeper areas of forests at different altitudes—between 1968 and 2016 demonstrated that the basic vital need of hunger is being fulfilled since antiquity by plants in the wild. Methods: Based on collections, consultations with local population personnel and literature searches, this paper presents many plants that are commonly used as food and focuses on their products, which are rich in alkaloids, polysaccharides, steroids, terpenoids, flavonoids, aminoacids, fatty acids and antibiotics etc. These complex organic compounds are suitable for the production of drugs for many ailments/diseases, including the prevention of cancers. Results: There are more than 100 families including several hundred plant taxa from various plant groups like angiosperms, bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms and even fleshy fungi, which have offered essential food items to ever-growing human populations since antiquity. Phytochemicals functioning as antioxidants are exceedingly beneficial to the human body but excess consumption of these compounds, adding higher levels of antioxidants, may even be responsible for chronic diseases including aging, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, etc. These medicines can obviously be taken in small and prescribed quantities but can never be consumed as “food items.”

Biodiversity of edible mushrooms in Vindhya forest of northern India

Various fleshy fungi are traditional food use which were collected from Vindhya forest region and other location for their morphological characterization. Present study deals with the diversity of fleshy fungi in Vindhya forest of northern India. Vindhya forest region is very common for diversity of fleshy fungal population. Extensive surveys were conducted from July 2012 to September 2012 and July 2013 to September 2013. The fleshy fungi were collected date wise as per as possible correct scientific name with citation of authors name and taxonomic position. Some other information also recorded such as collecting date and place, habit, single/ branching and growing substrates. The fleshy fungi were collected during this study included eight species of Pleurotus, two species of Volvariella, Lentinus, Lycoperdon and Agaricus and one species of Cococybe, Calocybe, Flammulina, Tricholoma, Auricularia, Hypomyces, Armillaria, Russula and Ganoderma.

Contributions to the Pediciidae (Diptera) fauna of Turkey with six new records

* Correspondence: okanozgul@mu.edu.tr The Pediciidae were part of the Limoniidae, which were traditionally included in the Tipulidae (Oosterbroek, 2006); however, they were separated from the Limoniidae by Starý (1992) due to several features in the adult stage. Adult pediciids are ordinarily found in low deciduous vegetation near streams and lakes in forested areas. Many species are abundant and extensively preyed upon by birds, mammals, fish, and other vertebrates, as well as spiders and insects. Larvae are usually found in various aquatic and semiaquatic environments during most of their development. They feed on decaying plant material and fleshy fungi (Ula spp.). The Pediciinae are carnivorous in spring habitats; hence, they move to pupate on the margins of aquatic and semiaquatic environments or in dryer places (Reusch and Oosterbroek, 1997). The Pediciidae currently contain 490 described species worldwide. Of these, 201 species are known in the Palearctic region, mainly in the East Palearctic (Oosterbroek, 2015). So far, 11 pediciid species have been found in Turkey (Oosterbroek, 2015). The aim of this paper is to summarize our knowledge on the Turkish Pediciidae fauna and add new records. Specimens were collected in aquatic and semiaquatic habitats in 2008–2011 in the provinces of Balikesir, Bilecik, Bursa, Canakkale, Kirklareli, Kocaeli, and Sakarya in the Marmara region; Afyonkarahisar, Kutahya, and Usak in the Aegean region; and Eskisehir in the Central Anatolian region of Turkey (Figure). All adults were collected by the authors with a sweep net (40 cm in diameter). Genitalia preparations were performed based on Dienske’s (1987) approach and were preserved either in 70% mixture of alcohol and glycerin (3:1) solution or by pinning. The species were identified by following the works conducted by Dienske (1987), Savchenko (1989), Reusch and Oosterbroek (1997), and Podenas et al. (2006). Some problems in identifying the specimens were solved, and the identified taxa were checked by Jaroslav Starý. The material examined is presented along with localities, altitude, GPS coordinates, collection dates, and number and sex of each specimen examined. Specimens examined in the current study are deposited in the Zoological Laboratory of the Department of Biology, Mugla Sitki Kocman University, Mugla, Turkey (ZMMU). A total of 280 specimens including 224 males were collected in Afyonkarahisar, Balikesir, Bilecik, Bursa, Canakkale, Eskisehir, Kirklareli, Kutahya, Kocaeli, Sakarya, and Usak provinces of Turkey between 2008 and 2014. Twelve species were identified belonging to 4 genera of Pediciidae, 6 of which were recorded in Turkey for the first time. Additionally, all species were new records for the provinces where they were collected (Table). Subfamily Pediciinae Dicranota (Ludicia) lucidipennis (Edwards, 1921) Material examined: 1 ♂. Canakkale: Bayramic, Evciler, Kaz Mountains, Duden Alani (39°41′N, 26°47′E), 1270 m, 19.08.2008. Abstract: This study was carried out to contribute to the Pediciidae (Diptera) fauna in Afyonkarahisar, Balikesir, Bilecik, Bursa, Canakkale, Eskisehir, Kirklareli, Kutahya, Kocaeli, Sakarya, and Usak provinces of Turkey between 2008 and 2014. It was reported that 12 pediciid species belonging to 4 genera have been recorded in Turkey. Six of these species were recorded for the first time for the Turkish Pediciidae fauna. These species are Dicranota (Paradicranota) flammatra Starý, 1981; Dicranota (Paradicranota) fuscipennis Lackschewitz, 1940; Dicronata (Paradicronata) landrocki Czizek, 1931; Dicranota (Paradicranota) schistacea Lackschewitz, 1940; Dicronata (Paradicronata) subtilis Loew, 1871; and Tricyphona (Tricyphona) unicolor (Schummel, 1829). All pediciid species known in Turkey, and their provinces of collection, are given in this paper.

Biodiversity of Fleshy Fungi, their Conservation and Applications for Human Welfare

Biodiversity of Fleshy Fungi, their Conservation and Applications for Human Welfare

Fossil Fleshy Fungi (“Mushrooms”) in Amber

A survey of fleshy fungi from amber deposits around the world is presented. Included are representatives of gilled fungi, puffballs, bird’s nest fungi, gasteroid fungi, xylaroid fungi, hymenomycetes, polypores and morels. Also included is a description of the first fossil morel, Paleomorchella dominicana gen. et sp. nov. from Dominican Republic amber. Several arthropods that were associated with the fossil fungi are figured and discussed.

Fleshy fungi forays in the vicinities of the YSU Mukhrino field station

В статье представлены результаты изучения микобиоты макромицетов в окрестностях полевого стационара Мухрино ЮГУ (средне-таежная зона Западной Сибири, г. Ханты-Мансийск). Сбор макромицетов проводили в течение 2008-2014 гг. в ходе маршрутов в лесных, пойменных и болотных экосистемах. Около 600 образцов было обработано и определено по общепринятой методике. Образцы в сухом виде и сопутствующие данные хранятся в Фунгарии ЮГУ. Видовое богатство выявленной микобиоты макромицетов представлено 324 таксонами из 110 родов, 43 семейств и 10 порядков. Большая часть видов (40%) формируют микоризу с древесными растениями, другие являются сапротрофами на древесине (27%), почве (18%) и других субстратах. Показана фитоценотическая приуроченность для ряда видов. Приводится приблизительная оценка обилия по числу собранных в коллекции образцов. В виду важного пищевого значения макромицетов, проведен анализ их съедобных качеств: 23% (73 вида) являются съедобными, включая 30 видов высокого качества; 5% являются ядовитыми, включая несколько смертельно ядовитых; 14% условно съедобны; информация о съедобности большей части видов списка (57%) в литературе отсутствует. Выявленная микобиота в окрестностях стационара Мухрино включает семь видов, занесенных в Красную книгу ХМАО; сообщается информация о их местонахождениях и состоянии популяций. Сравнение выявленного списка с ранее опубликованным для ХМАО показало высокую степень новизны выявленной микобиоты: только треть видов отмечалась ранее, остальные (198 видов) являются новыми регистрациями для территории округа. В аннотированном списке сообщается информация о дате, местообитании, обилии, трофической группе и съедобности каждого таксона.

Transatlantic disjunction in fleshy fungi. II. The Sparassis spathulata – S. brevipes complex

Taxo-nomenclaturally, transatlantic disjunctions among fleshy fungi take two forms: 1) the same name is used on both continents, but the phylotaxonomic congruity of the organisms is questionable; and 2) different names are used, but whether they refer to the same or different organisms is questionable. This paper takes up an example of the latter case, where the European representative is known as Sparassis brevipes (or S. nemecii) and the American as S. spathulata (or S. herbstii). Phylogenetic placement shows that European and North American entities differ and that different names are appropriate. The study further shows that S. nemecii is a morphological variant of S. brevipes and that S. herbstii likewise appears to be a morphological variant of S. spathulata. In order to bring taxonomic stability to this taxonomic complex, S. brevipes is typified, epitypes are designated for S. nemecii and S. spathulata, and all taxa are redescribed. Two new combinations are proposed: S. brevipes f. nemecii and S. spathulata f. herbstii.

Studies on biodiversity of fleshy fungi in Navsari (South Gujarat), India

Mushrooms have created great excitement because of their presence especially after the down pour during the monsoon season. So a detailed survey was made in and around Navsari, south Gujarat, from July to September, 2010, to understand the morphological variability in their population which has not been done earlier. The region is a habitat of well distributed micro flora and fauna. Navsari is located between the latitude 20.95° N. It has an average elevation of 9 m above the sea level. The average maximum and minimum temperatures are 40 and 18°C, respectively, with an average annual rainfall of 122 cm. Out of several mushroom collected, 17 species were identified belonging to 2 different classes namely, Gastromycetes - Daldinia concentrica [(Xylariaceae) (cramp ball)], Lycoperedon pyriforme[(Lycoperdaceae, edible) (wood or stump puff ball)], Scleroderma citrinum (Sclerodermataceae, edible); Hymenomycetes - Cantharellus umbonatus, Coriolus versicolor (Polyporaceae, inedible),Schizophyllum commune (Schizophyllaceae, inedible) (the split gill), Ganoderma lucidum(Ganodermataceae), Ganoderma applanatum (ganodermataceae), Laetiporus sulphureus(Polyporaceae, edible), Lepiota organensis, Collybia butyracea, Lentineullus cochleatus(Aurisclpinaceae, edible), Galerina unicolor (Hymenogatraceae), Citocybe flaccida (Trichomataceae, edible), Oudemansiella redicata (Physalacriaceae, edible), Hygrophorus eburnes (Hygrophoraceae, edible) and Agaricus campestris (Agaricaceae, edible). The investigation proves that there exists a distinct biodiversity in mushroom population. Key words: Navsari, south Gujarat, mushroom, population, flora, fauna.

Stipitate hydnums of the southern United States 1: Phellodon mississippiensis sp. nov.

During a general survey of fleshy fungi from Mississippi, an undescribed Phellodon species was observed in the Tombigbee National Forest at the same location over a two-year period. No other studies of the stipitate hydnums are available for the midsouthern states that directly compare with the new species. Molecular sequence data of P. mississippiensis were distinct from other Phellodon spp. of the southeastern United States. The highly fused (concrescent) basidiomata of P. mississippiensis are found under mixed hardwoods and associated pines. The light tan to light rust (orange) or salmon color on the marginal spines and along the margin of the small (≤5 cm broad) stout spongy tomentose basidiomata makes this species distinct. The presence of rare clamp connections was observed in the trama hyphae. However, identification of P. mississippiensis can be complicated by its concrescent nature and the indeterminate growth forms caused by environmental conditions. Morphological characters and results from the phylogenetic analysis are included in the species description.

Historical biogeography and diversification of truffles in the Tuberaceae and their newly identified southern hemisphere sister lineage.

Truffles have evolved from epigeous (aboveground) ancestors in nearly every major lineage of fleshy fungi. Because accelerated rates of morphological evolution accompany the transition to the truffle form, closely related epigeous ancestors remain unknown for most truffle lineages. This is the case for the quintessential truffle genus Tuber, which includes species with socio-economic importance and esteemed culinary attributes. Ecologically, Tuber spp. form obligate mycorrhizal symbioses with diverse species of plant hosts including pines, oaks, poplars, orchids, and commercially important trees such as hazelnut and pecan. Unfortunately, limited geographic sampling and inconclusive phylogenetic relationships have obscured our understanding of their origin, biogeography, and diversification. To address this problem, we present a global sampling of Tuberaceae based on DNA sequence data from four loci for phylogenetic inference and molecular dating. Our well-resolved Tuberaceae phylogeny shows high levels of regional and continental endemism. We also identify a previously unknown epigeous member of the Tuberaceae – the South American cup-fungus Nothojafnea thaxteri (E.K. Cash) Gamundí. Phylogenetic resolution was further improved through the inclusion of a previously unrecognized Southern hemisphere sister group of the Tuberaceae. This morphologically diverse assemblage of species includes truffle (e.g. Gymnohydnotrya spp.) and non-truffle forms that are endemic to Australia and South America. Southern hemisphere taxa appear to have diverged more recently than the Northern hemisphere lineages. Our analysis of the Tuberaceae suggests that Tuber evolved from an epigeous ancestor. Molecular dating estimates Tuberaceae divergence in the late Jurassic (∼156 million years ago), with subsequent radiations in the Cretaceous and Paleogene. Intra-continental diversification, limited long-distance dispersal, and ecological adaptations help to explain patterns of truffle evolution and biodiversity.

Food Irradiation for Mushrooms: A Review

Food irradiation may be considered as a second big breakthrough after pasteurization. It is the process of exposing food to ionizing radiation in order to destroy microorganisms or insects that could be present in the food and some time to improve the functional properties of food or to eliminate toxins, with the least compromise on sensory and nutritive quality. Mushrooms are fleshy fungi, being used as food and medicine. However, their short shelf-life and high initial microbial load are the major problems regarding their easy distribution and safe consumption. The irradiation of mushrooms can be a safe and cost effective method to enhance shelf-life as well as to ensure hygienic and sensory quality. For quarantine requirements and consumer awareness, different detection methods for irradiated mushrooms, such as electron spin resonance, photostimulated luminescence, and thermoluminescence are available, which are effective and validated. Safety of irradiated mushrooms is well documented providing evidences that this technology is safe with some added advantages.

Two Lactarius species associated with a relict Fagus grandifolia var. mexicana population in a Mexican montane cloud forest

Ectomycorrhizal (EM) fleshy fungi are being monitored in a population of Fagus grandifolia var. mexicana persisting in a montane cloud forest refuge on a volcano in a subtropical region of central Veracruz (eastern Mexico). The population of Fagus studied represents one of the 10 recognized forest fragments still housing this tree genus in Mexico. This is the first attempt to document EM fungi associated with this tree species in Mexico. We present evidence of the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis for Lactarius badiopallescens and L. cinereus with this endemic tree. Species identification of Lactarius on Fagus grandifolia var. mexicana was based on the comparison of DNAsequences (ITS rDNA) of spatiotemporally co-occurring basidiomes and EM root tips. The host of the EM tips was identified by comparison of the large subunit of the ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase gene (rbcL). The occurrence of Lactarius badiopallescens and L. cinereus populations in the area of study represent the southernmost record known to date of these two species in North America and are new for the Neotropical Lactarius mycota. Descriptions coupled with illustrations of macro- and micromorphological features of basidiomes as well as photographs of ectomycorrhizas are presented.

Modelling and predicting fungal distribution patterns using herbarium data

AbstractAim The main aims of this study are: (1) to test if temperature and related parameters are the primary determinants of the regional distribution of macrofungi (as is commonly recognized for plants); (2) to test if the success of modelling fungal distribution patterns depends on species and distribution characteristics; and (3) to explore the potential of using herbarium data for modelling and predicting fungal species’ distributions.Location The study area, Norway, spans 58–71° N latitude and 4–32° E longitude, and embraces extensive ecological gradients in a small area.Methods The study is based on 1020 herbarium collections of nine selected species of macrofungi and a set of 75 environmental predictor variables, all recorded in a 5 × 5‐km grid covering Norway. Primarily, generalized linear model (GLM; logistic regression) analyses were used to identify the environmental variables that best accounted for the species’ recorded distributions in Norway. Second, Maxent analyses (using variables identified by GLM) were used to produce predictive potential distribution maps for these species.Results Variables relating to temperature and radiation were most frequently included in the GLMs, and between 24.8% and 59.8% of the variation in single‐species occurrence was accounted for. The fraction of variation explained by the GLMs ranged from 41.6% to 59.8% for species with restricted distributions, and from 24.8% to 39.3% for species with widespread/scattered and intermediate distributions. The two‐step procedure of GLM followed by Maxent gave predictions with very high values for the area under the curve (0.927–0.997), and maps of potential distribution were generally credible.Main conclusions We show that temperature is a key factor governing the distribution of macrofungi in Norway, indicating that fungi may respond strongly to global warming. We confirm that modelling success depends partly on species and distribution characteristics, notably on how the distribution relates to the extent of the study area. Our study demonstrates that the combination of GLM and Maxent may be a fruitful approach for biogeography. We conclude that herbarium data improve insight into factors that control the distributions of fungi, of particular value for research on fleshy fungi (mushrooms), which have largely cryptic life cycles.