scientific correspondence Successful cultivation of the golden he golden chanterelle ( pots and left them in the greenhouse for Tcibarius) and allied species are highly another seven months. appreciated edible . Large quan­ In April 1996 we found the first fruit­ tities of Cantharellus species are exported1 body, which we harvested later that month. from the northwestern coast of the United It originated from a drain-hole in a plastic States to central , where the C. cibar­ pot carrying inoculated with Figure I First cultivated fruit-body ofthe golden ius population is declining2• There have been Swedish C. cibarius. The size of the fruit­ chanterelle (C. cibarius). many efforts to cultivate this species3- 5, and body was 3.5 em, and its odour, trama and here we report the first successful fruit-body spore-forming were normal (see isms such as Laccaria, which quickly col­ formation in the greenhouse, hosted by pine Fig. 1). We found fluorescent Pseudomonas onizes via spores. The Cantharellus seedlings only 16 months old. in great quantities as in wild strains of cultivation technique could be applied to Cultivation of the golden chanterelle has C. cibarius. The fruit -body was not attached other edible or endangered species such as been hampered by the difficulty of obtaining to roots or mycelial cords. Another pot con­ Tricholoma . Its life cycle is similar pure mycelia, owing to contamination by tained a 0.5-cm fruit-body primordium and to Cantharellus, and it is the most valuable other organisms in the fruit-body, especially several contained large quantities of hypha! in the world (US$100 per fruit­ Pseudomonas bacteria6• Also, unlike cul­ knots resembling young primordia. We body). There are also potential commercial tivated saprobic mushrooms that can utilize found a third large fruit-body in June 1996. applications similar to the establishment of cellulose, C. cibarius obtains its carbohy­ In November 1996 there was a second flush (Tuber melanosporum) orchards by drates from the ectomycorrhizal it of three more fruit -bodies. outplanting of inoculated seedlings9. forms with trees. Common techniques for We found no obvious factors triggering EricDanell establishing using fast-growing fruit-body formation. The Pinus seedlings Department afForest and Pathology, nursery fungi are not applicable to were 16 months old, demonstrating that C. Swedish University ofAg ricultural Sciences, Cantharellus, so a routine method for cibarius is not dependent on old trees for PO Box 7026, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden C. cibarius mycorrhiza formation was not reproduction. In addition, the fungal iso­ e-mail: [email protected] published until 1994 (ref. 7). However, by lates used in this experiment had been in Francisco J. Camacho that time it was known from observations in culture for eight years. It has been 112 years Department ofBotany & Plant Pathology, nature that C. cibarius in Sweden was mostly since Frank published the first observations Oregon State University, found with trees older than 25 years. on mycorrhiza8, and only now can we con­ Co rvallis, Oregon 97331-29024, USA

In January 1995 we started an in vitro trol the life cycle of a mushroom that is an l. Schlosser, W. E. & Blatner, K. A./. For. 93,31-36 (1995 ). mycorrhiza synthesis procedure, using important symbiont to forest trees as well as 2. Arnolds, E. Caa. /.Bot. 73, (suppl. I), S987-S998 (1995). Swedish C. cibarius mycelia that we had iso­ a highly appreciated food item. 3. Danell, E. thesis, Univ. Uppsala (1994). 4. Straatsrna, G. eta/. Tra11S. Br. Mycol. Soc. 85,689-697 ( 1985). lated from fruit-body tissue in 1988. In With greenhouse production, it would 5. Fries, N. Mycologia 71, 216-219 (1979). March 1995, we transferred Pinus seedlings be possible to study, for example, the physi­ 6. Dan ell , E., AlstrOm, S. & l hnstr6m, A. Mycol. Res. 97, 11 48- 11 52 inoculated with C. cibarius into pots, from ology of reproduction, genetics, and bacter­ (1993). which we harvested during August ial and insect symbiosis. Obviously, the 7. Danell, E. Mycorrhiza 5, 89- 97 ( J 994). 8. Frank, B. Ber. Deutsch. Bot. Ges. 3, 128-145 { 1885). 1995 to study mycorrhizal establishment. life-cycle strategy of C. cibarius is different 9. Hall, 1. , Brown, G. & Byars, J. The Black Truffle (NZ lnst. Crop We returned a fraction of the plants to their from inedible mycorrhizal model organ- Food Res., Christchurch, 1994).

Thalidomide's chirality no difference in teratogenicity between the Thalidomide has attracted new interest two enantiomers of thalidomide in New because of its immunomodulating activity6, ...... Zealand white rabbits, a species susceptible which is reflected in in vitro assays by an In her News article\ Rubner wrote that to the teratogenic effect of thalidomide. inhibition of the release of tumour necrosis "pharmaceutical products need to be tested Third, and most important from our point factor (TNF)-a from activated mononuclear separately for the effects of left- and right­ of view, Eriksson et al. 5 have shown that human blood cells. To find out whether this handed molecules, following the tragedy in there is a rapid interconversion between the inhibitory effect is enantio-selective, we test­ the early 1960s when women gave birth to two forms of thalidomide in vitro and in ed a set of configuration-stable thalidomide children with malformed limbs after being vivo in humans after application of either S­ analogues as well as the enantiomers of given the sedative thalidomide, which had or R-thalidomide. The mean rate constants thalidomide in vitro7• Surprisingly, we found been contaminated with the wrong enan­ for in vivo inversion are between 0.12 and a clear enantio-selectivity towards the tiomer': This statement about thalidomide 0.17 h- 1, respectively, depending on S-form in all the analogues tested. relies on a repore demonstrating malfor­ whether the S-form or the R-form is In the case of thalidomide, the S-form mations in pups of rodents treated with applied. Therefore, about 8 h after applica­ confers a slight, but statistically significant, S-thalidomide, whereas offspring of animals tion of the pure enantiomers, an equilibri­ increase in the degree of TNF-a inhibition treated with the R-form developed norm­ um has been reached and both forms of the compared with the R-form. It should be ally. We point out here, however, that these compound are present in the blood at simi­ taken into account that the racemization is data need to be interpreted with caution. lar concentrations. This leads to the conclu­ not complete during the first, most sensitive First, rodents are generally insensitive to sion that application of a pure enantiomer hours of this assay. Enantio-selectivity the teratogenic effects of thalidomide3• Sec­ would not have prevented the tragedy of towards the S-form has also been observed ond, Fabro et al. 4 demonstrated that there is thalidomide-induced embryopathy. with configuration-stable- or at least

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