Fungal friends and foes! Allison Walker, Associate Professor Department of Biology, Acadia University Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada GCRL Science Café Oct 27th 2020 Some slides modified from G. Kernaghan, NSMS Job Description Research and teaching in fungal biology I also teach: Introductory Biology Field Biology Molecular Biology Botany I am Director of our E.C. Smith Herbarium (=plant & fungus museum!), Editor for 2 journals & I train students in research techniques, including DNA lab work and field skills What is the education path for this career? 2003 Hon. B.Sc. Botany, University of Toronto 2004-2005 Visiting Scientist USDA-ARS Systematic Botany & Mycology Lab Beltsville, Maryland USA 2007 MS & 2012 Ph.D. Coastal Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi 2012-2014 Postdoc AAFC Ottawa 2014-present Assistant & Associate Professor, Acadia University, Nova Scotia Wild mushrooms! lithuanian roadside market Prince Charles at Balmoral • Annual mushroom production of european woodland is estimated at 40 kg/ha • In Washington state, total value of wild edible mushrooms is over $1 million/year Identifying Mushrooms If there are no shortcuts or general rules, how do you know what is edible or poisonous? 1. Learn how to identify mushrooms (the basics) 2. Use field guides and the expertise of knowledgeable mycologists (join a club!) 3. Never take chances; when in doubt, throw it out! • High diversity of ecosystems • Pine forests • Bottomland Hardwood swamps • Support a great diversity of fungi ~ thousands of Gulf Coast mushroom species! Excellent field guide! (2019) Identifying Mushrooms Basic anatomy of a mushroom Boletes have pores, not gills Cap (pileus) Gills (lamellae) Ring (annulus) Stem (stipe) Cup (volva) Identifying Mushrooms • Size, shape, and colour • Smell and taste (be careful!) • Where it is found and what time of the year • Spore print • Microscopy Identifying Mushrooms When in doubt… …just leave it alone! There is inherent risk associated with eating wild mushrooms! American Association of Poison Control Centers reported 7 US fatalities in 2012 (that’s just the reported cases) Total Minor Moderate Major Death exposures outcome outcome outcome 6,221 846 494 35 7 • Many wild mushrooms can make you sick • Only a few truly deadly Icons Edible Poisonous Icons Edible Poisonous Gastrointestinal irritants - not deadly but might make you wish you were dead! Icons Edible Poisonous Gastrointestinal irritants - not deadly but might make you wish you were dead! Mycorrhizal Saprophytic Chanterelle Cantharellus French market stall • Pleasant apricot odor, not prone to insect damage • Very common; bottomland hardwood forests, along bayous • Associated with a wide varieties of trees (oak, beech, birch, various conifers) • Very popular; world production is as much as 200,000 tonnes per year ($2 B) Chanterelle look-a-likes (not “chanterelles”) Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca (false chanterelle) • Potentially poisonous • Often fruiting on or near rotting conifer wood • Eaten by the Tepehuán people of Mexico; “Iguana lard” Cantharellus Hygrophoropsis Omphalotus illudens (Jack O'Lantern) • Clusters on buried hardwoods • May appear to be growing from soil Lactarius – ‘Milk caps’ Dan Molter CCA-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license Walt Sturgeon- CC BY-SA 3.0 Lactarius indigo ‘Indigo milky’ Lactarius paradoxus – bleeds red • Fresh gills produce milky latex when cut • White spore prints • Mycorrhizal with pine and oak Lactarius (milk caps) Russula (brittle gills) Russulaceae • Lactarius and Russula are members of the family Russulaceae • Other a few edible Lactarii, generally not eaten Lobster mushroom Russula Hypomyces Lactarius • R. brevipes or L. piperatus becomes parasitized by the mould Hypomyces lactifluorum • L. piperatus is very hot, but neutralized by the parasite • Makes R. brevipes less brittle and crumbly Coprinus comatus (shaggy mane, inky caps, lawyer’s wigs) “Inky caps” • Gills of Coprinus liquefy (deliquesce) turning to black ‘ink’ • Autodigestion of the mushroom tissue • As the cap degrades, the gills separate and curl back, allowing for more efficient spore release Coprinopsis atramentaria (tipplers bane) Grows on decaying wood (may be buried) “tipplers bane” • Contains the amino acid coprine • Causes poisoning if alcohol is consumed from 3 hours to 5 days after eating the mushrooms • Then a temporary toxic syndrome is produced; nausea, agitation, palpitations. tingling limbs • Symptoms last about three days, initiated by as little as 3 oz. of beer In the liver: alcohol acetaldehyde (toxic) acetic acid alcohol dehydrogenase aldehyde Xdehydrogenase • Coprine blocks aldehyde dehydrogenase, causing buildup of acetaldehyde • Mechanism identical to the drug antabuse, used to treat alcoholism (makes alcohol an unpleasant experience) “boletes” • Soft spongy sporulating surfaces under the cap instead of gills • Very prone to insect damage Several genera including: • Boletus - tubes tend to be small and round • Suillus – tubes may be more angular and radially arranged, slimy cap, may have ring • Leccinum - dark tufts on stem Boletus Suillus Leccinum Boletus Example: Boletus edulis (Cep, Porcini, Steinpilz, King Bolete, penny bun) • Highly prized in Europe and North America • Common • Usually associated with conifers, sometimes hardwoods Suillus luridus blue staining bolete Leccinum aurantiacum Rules for Boletes (adapted from mushroomexpert.com) 1. Avoid boletes with red or orange pore surfaces 2. Avoid boletes that stain or bruise blue to green Nearly half of all boletes, but avoids the toxic, non- red/orange-pored species 3. Avoid orange-capped Leccinums Some people are adversely affected by these 4. Only fresh, young specimens Pore surfaces colour may darken and bruising reaction may fade when old Hen of the Woods - edible Grifola frondosa living & dead oaks/hardwoods, at base Chicken of the woods (edible) Laetiporus sulphureus living & dead oaks/hardwoods Morchella (Morel) • Ascomycetes • Fruit in the spring • Check bark mulch, burned areas, mixed hardwoods Jim Ehle Morchella angusticeps (black morel) Morchella americana (yellow morel) Mixed woods, pines • Mixed hardwoods, burned areas Some morels may be mycorrhizal with tree roots; others are decomposers (=saprotrophs) Gyromitra (false morel) • Could be confused with morels • Fruits in early spring under hardwoods • Contains gyromitrin which metabolises into monomethylhydrazine - used as a rocket fuel! • Diarrhea, dizziness and possibly death • Stories of cooks dying from the volatile toxin, while diners were OK mushroom-collecting.com Lepista nuda (blewit) downsizer.net • Late season fruiter (summer to early winter) –lawns, compost piles • Could be confused with lavender coloured species of Cortinarius Cortinarius (web caps) Cortinarius • Thousands of species of Cortinarius • Some are very toxic - contain orellanin • Very long latency period: 2 days to 3 weeks for symptoms • Ultimately kidney failure and death if left untreated C. orellanus C. gentilis (deadly cort) C. rubellus (fool’s webcap) (deadly webcap) Associated with conifers Amanita • Most deadly mushroom • Contains amatoxins (cyclic octapeptides) • Inhibit enzyme RNA polymerase - stops protein synthesis • RNA polymerase of the fungus is not susceptable! Aminatoxin (red) binding to RNA polyermase (blue) Amanitoxin poisoning • Liver is targeted as it attempts to remove the toxin • Central nervous system and kidneys also affected • Cramps and diarrhea on day 1 • Apparent remission of symptoms on day 3 but toxin is acting on internal organs during this time • Liver and kidneys severely affected on day 4-5 • Death often follows without liver transplant Volvariella Amanita (paddy straw) • Poisonings have resulted from confusion with Volvariella (paddy straw mushroom) commonly eaten in Asia • Volvariella and Amanita both have a distinct cup (volva) at the base • Can be distinguished by pink spore colour (Amanita spores are white) - Spore print white - Gills not attached - Cup at base Galerina marginata (deadly Galerina) • Contains the same toxin (amanitoxin) as the deadly white Amanitas (Destroying Angel) • Small mushroom (cap 2-5 cm), with fragile ring, rusty brown spores • Wet forests on well decayed wood Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) • Contain ibotenic acid and muscimol instead of amanitoxins • Toxicity depends on variety • May cause profuse sweating, coma, convulsions, hallucinations Psilocybe (“magic mushrooms”) Psilocybe contains the neurotoxin psilocybin Psilocybin • After ingestion, psilocybin is converted to psilocin • Psilocin mimics the neurotransmitter serotonin (transmits signals across synapses between neurons) • Psychoactive (mind-altering) effects similar to LSD • May also cause nausea and panic attacks Redhead (1990) Guidelines for collecting wild edible mushrooms (Adapted from David Spahr - mushroom-collecting.com) • Buy a good field guide • Don’t eat mushrooms with any features that contradict the description (when in doubt, throw it out) • Don’t eat mushrooms that are too young (i.e. unopen caps) or too old • Note environment; trees, soil, other aspects of the location • Take a spore print • Be able to distinguish a mushroom species from its look-a-likes • Learn the deadly groups (e.g. Amanita) and the symptoms of poisoning • Avoid "little brown mushrooms“; difficult to ID • Never eat any mushroom growing from a sac or cup (likely Amanita) • Always cook mushrooms thoroughly • Try only a small amount of something new at first - keeping a sample for reference in case of poisoning Document your fungal finds on iNaturalist.org ! Spooky Halloween fungus, the Column Stinkhorn! Seen on GCRL Campus Gsmyco.org.