Coprinus comatus damages nematode cuticles mechanically with spiny balls and produces potent toxins to immobilize nematodes.

We reported recently a unique fungal structure, called the spiny ball, on the vegetative hyphae of Coprinus comatus (O. F. Müll.:Fr.) Pers. Although some observations regarding the role of this structure were presented, its function remained largely unknown. In this study, we showed that purified (isolated and washed) spiny balls could immobilize and kill the free-living nematode Panagrellus redivivus Goodey highly efficiently. Scanning electron microscopy studies illustrated that the spiny structure damaged the nematode cuticle, suggesting the presence of a mechanical force during the process of nematode immobilization. Severe injuries on nematode cuticles caused the leakage of inner materials of the nematodes. When these structures were ground in liquid nitrogen, their killing efficacy against nematodes was lost, indicating that the shape and the complete structure of the spiny balls are indispensable for their function. However, extraction with organic solvents never lowered their activity against P. redivivus, and the extracts showed no obvious effect on the nematode. We also investigated whether C. comatus was able to produce toxins which would aid in the immobilization of nematodes. In total, we identified seven toxins from C. comatus that showed activity to immobilize the nematodes P. redivivus and Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid et White) Chitwood. The chemical structures of these toxins were identified with nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry, infrared, and UV spectrum analysis. Two compounds were found to be novel. The toxins found in C. comatus are O-containing heterocyclic compounds.

Fatal pulmonary infection caused by the basidiomycete Hormographiella aspergillata.

A fatal case of a pulmonary infection caused by Hormographiella aspergillata, the anamorph of the mushroom Coprinus cinereus, is reported for a patient receiving treatment for a second relapse of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The filamentous basidiomycete was identified with restriction fragment length polymorphism patterns of PCR-amplified internally transcribed spacers and small subunit ribosomal DNA with four restriction enzymes. The patient failed to respond to treatment with amphotericin B and itraconazole. The fungus was cultured from the lungs at autopsy: the MIC of amphotericin B for the fungus was low (0.5 mg/liter), and that of itraconazole was high (8 mg/liter).

Agaricales sensu lato toxicos recolectados en la X región de Chile / Toxic agaricales sensu lato collected at the X region, Chile

Se citan 18 Agaricales sensu lato tóxicos que han sido recolectados en la X región de Chile. Se entrega una descripción de sus características macro y microscópicas más inportantes y se comentan sus aspectos toxicológicos, taxonómicos y ecológicos