Cerrena unicolor

Last updated

Cerrena unicolor
Cerrena unicolor 45687.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Polyporales
Family: Polyporaceae
Genus: Cerrena
Species:
C. unicolor
Binomial name
Cerrena unicolor
(Bull.) Murrill (1903)
Synonyms
  • Boletus unicolorBull. (1785)
  • Daedalea cinerea Fr. (1815)
  • Daedalea unicolor(Bull.) Fr. (1821)
  • Trametes unicolor(Bull.) Pilát (1939)
Cerrena unicolor
Information icon.svg
Pores icon.pngPores on hymenium
Offset cap icon.svg Cap is offset
NA cap icon.svg Hymenium attachment is not applicable
NA cap icon.svgLacks a stipe
Transparent spore print icon.svg
Spore print is white
Saprotrophic fungus.svgParasitic fungus.svgEcology is saprotrophic or parasitic
Mycomorphbox Inedible.pngEdibility is inedible

Cerrena unicolor, commonly known as the mossy maze polypore, [1] is a species of poroid fungus in the genus Cerrena (Family: Polyporaceae). This saprobic fungus causes white rot.

Contents

Taxonomy

The fungus was originally described by French botanist Jean Bulliard in 1785 as Boletus unicolor, [2] when all pored fungi were typically assigned to genus Boletus . William Alphonso Murrill transferred it to Cerrena in 1903. [3] The fungus has acquired a long and extensive synonymy as it has been re-described under many different names, and been transferred to many polypore genera. [4]

Description

Cerrena unicolor has fruit bodies that are semicircular, wavy brackets up to 10 centimeters (4 in) wide, in groups of 2-20. [1] [5] Attached to the growing surface without a stalk (sessile), the upper surface is finely hairy, white to grayish brown in color, and in zonate—marked with zones or concentric bands of color. The surface is often green from algal growth. The pore surface is whitish in young specimens, later turning gray in maturity. The arrangement of the pores resembles a maze of slots; the tubes may extend to 4 mm deep. [6] With age, the pores descend into tooth like structures. [7] The spore print is white.

Spores are elliptical in shape, smooth, hyaline, inamyloid, and have dimensions of 5–7 by 2.5–4  μm. [6] The basidia are 4-spored, 20-25 x 5-6 μm in size and have basal clamps. The cystidia are 40-60 x 4-5 μm and thin-walled.

The hyphal system is trimitic (containing generative, skeletal and binding hyphae). The generative context hyphae are 2-4 μm, thin-walled and nodose-septate, while the skeletal context hyphae are wider, thicker and have no septa. The binding and tramal hyphae are 2-4 μm wide, have thick walls but no septa, and are quite branched. [8]

Similar Species

Cerrena unicolor can be easily distinguished from most other polypores by its hairy upper surface and maze-like pores that slowly descend into tooth-like structures. Confusion can arise with other smaller polypores such as the genera Trichaptum or Trametes . [7] [5]

Trichaptum species that are young can easily be distinguished by their purple tinge. Older specimens however need careful examination of their pore shapes, which will either be gill-like or angular, versus C. unicolors maze-like. Trichaptum perrottetii can also have maze-like pores in old age and can instead be distinguished by its flattened forked hairs on the upper surface. In North America T. perrottetii is only known from Florida and Georgia. [7]

Some Trametes species can be similar with hairy caps and labyrinth like pores, but they will never have pores descending into teeth like structures. Trametes species are also more flexible in old age, while C. unicolor will become brittle and break easily. Two Trametes species with maze-like pores, Trametes gibbosa and Trametes aesculi , have lumpy/warted caps. [7]

Trametopsis cervina will have a cinnamon colored pore surface and a less conspicuously zonate cap. [7]

Daedalea quercina has thick walled pores and the upper surface is velvety at most, rather than hairy. Daedaleopsis confragosa has pores that bruise brown and also does not have as hairy of a cap. Both of these species are overall more brown in color, but can fade in age. [5] [7]

Ecology

Cerrena unicolor causes canker rot and decay in paper birch (Betula papyrifera) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum) . [9] It causes white rot on deciduous hardwoods, and rarely on conifers. [10] It is found year-round. [11]

When a female wasp of the genus Tremex bores into wood near these fungi, spores will become trapped in the wasp's ovipositor. [12] [13] The spores are carried with the wasp's eggs and will eventually germinate where the eggs are placed. As the spores germinate and form a mycelium, the wasp's eggs will hatch, and the newly-born larvae eat the mycelium. The wasp species Tremex columba requires C. unicolor to grow, as without the interaction, the larvae will die. [13] However, the parasitic wasp genus Megarhyssa will lay its own eggs within the larvae of the Tremex wasp. The larvae of Megarhyssa, when hatched, proceed to eat the larvae of Tremex, helping control the population of Tremex. [13]

Pore surface magnified Cerrena unicolor 45689.jpg
Pore surface magnified

Distribution

The fungus has a wide distribution, and is found in Asia, Europe, South America, and North America. [14] It is inedible to humans. [15]

Applications

Cerrena unicolor has been identified as a source of the enzyme laccase. This enzyme has potential applications in a wide variety of bioprocesses. C. unicolor is known to produce laccase in culture at more favorable conditions and in higher yield than other wood rotting fungi, [16] [17] and research is focussing on ways to produce laccase cost-effectively on a large scale. [18]

Related Research Articles

<i>Trametes versicolor</i> Species of mushroom

Trametes versicolor – also known as Coriolus versicolor and Polyporus versicolor – is a common polypore mushroom found throughout the world. Meaning 'of several colors', versicolor accurately describes this fungus that displays a unique blend of markings. Additionally, owing to its shape being similar to that of a wild turkey's tail feathers, T. versicolor is most commonly referred to as turkey tail. A similar-looking mushroom commonly called "false turkey tail" is from a different order (Stereum), and thus may sometimes be confused with the 'true' turkey tail mushroom, T. versicolor. Another lookalike is the multicolor gill polypore, T. betulina.

<i>Ganoderma brownii</i> Species of fungus

Ganoderma brownii is a species of polypore fungus in the Ganodermataceae family. It is a plant pathogen and occasional saprotroph similar in appearance to Ganoderma applanatum. This species is restricted geographically to the Pacific Northwest, primarily observed in California. In the San Francisco Bay Area, it is very common on Umbellularia californica.

<i>Daedaleopsis confragosa</i> Species of fungus

Daedaleopsis confragosa, commonly known as the thin walled maze polypore or the blushing bracket, is a species of polypore fungus in the family Polyporaceae. A plant pathogen, it causes a white rot of injured hardwoods, especially willows. The fruit bodies are semicircular and tough, have a concentrically zoned brownish upper surface, and measure up to 20 cm (8 in) in diameter. The whitish underside turns gray-brown as the fruit body ages, but bruises pink or red. It is found all year and is common in northern temperate woodlands of eastern North America, Europe, and Asia. The species was first described from Europe in 1791 as a form of Boletus, and has undergone several changes of genus in its taxonomic history. It acquired its current name when Joseph Schröter transferred it to Daedaleopsis in 1888.

<i>Tyromyces chioneus</i> Species of fungus

Tyromyces chioneus, commonly known as the white cheese polypore, is a species of polypore fungus. A widely distributed fungus, it has a circumpolar distribution, in temperate boreal pine forests, of Asia, Europe, and North America, causes white rot in dead hardwood trees, especially birch.

<i>Sarcodontia unicolor</i> Species of fungus

Sarcodontia unicolor is a species of polypore fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It is a plant pathogen that affects oak trees. The fungal hyphae grow inside the tree, rotting the heartwood. The fruit bodies are initially whitish to buff in color before turning brownish in age. The pores on the underside of the cap are circular to angular. Spores are held in tubes and are ovoid to ellipsoid, with dimensions of 7–9 by 6–7 μm.

<i>Meripilus giganteus</i> Species of fungus

Meripilus giganteus is a polypore fungus in the family Meripilaceae. It causes a white rot in various types of broadleaved trees, particularly beech (Fagus), but also Abies, Picea, Pinus, Quercus and Ulmus species. This bracket fungus, commonly known as the giant polypore or black-staining polypore, is often found in large clumps at the base of trees, although fruiting bodies are sometimes found some distance away from the trunk, parasitizing the roots. M. giganteus has a circumboreal distribution in the northern Hemisphere, and is widely distributed in Europe. In the field, it is recognizable by the large, multi-capped fruiting body, as well as its pore surface that quickly darkens black when bruised or injured.

<i>Trametes gibbosa</i> Species of mushroom

Trametes gibbosa, commonly known as the lumpy bracket, is a polypore mushroom that causes white rot. It is found on beech stumps and the dead wood of other hardwood species. Fruit bodies are 8–15 cm in diameter and semicircular in shape. The upper surface is usually gray or white, but may be greenish in older specimens due to algal growth. Elongated pores are located on the under-surface. The fruiting bodies are frequently attacked by boring beetle larvae.

<i>Albatrellus subrubescens</i> Species of fungus in the family Albatrellaceae found in Asia, Europe and North America

Albatrellus subrubescens is a species of polypore fungus in the family Albatrellaceae. The fruit bodies (mushrooms) of the fungus have whitish to pale buff-colored caps that can reach up to 14.5 cm (5.7 in) in diameter, and stems up to 7 cm (2.8 in) long and 2 cm (0.8 in) thick. On the underside of the caps are tiny light yellow to pale greenish-yellow pores, the site of spore production. When the fruit bodies are fresh, the cap and pores stain yellow where exposed, handled, or bruised.

<i>Daedalea quercina</i> Species of fungus

Daedalea quercina is a species of mushroom in the order Polyporales, and the type species of the genus Daedalea. Commonly known as the thick-walled maze polypore, maze-gill fungusoak-loving maze polypore, or oak mazegill, the specific epithet refers to the oak genus Quercus, upon which it frequently grows, causing a brown rot. It is found in Europe, Asia, Northern Africa and Australasia. Though inedible, it can be used as a natural comb and has been the subject of chemical research.

<i>Panus conchatus</i> Species of fungus

Panus conchatus, commonly known as the lilac oysterling, smooth panus, or conch panus, is an inedible species of mushroom that occurs throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Its fruitbodies are characterized by a smooth, lilac- or tan-colored cap, and decurrent gills. The fungus is saprophytic and fruits on the decomposing wood of a wide variety of deciduous and coniferous trees. Despite being a gilled species, phylogenetic analysis has shown it is closely related to the pored species found in the family Polyporaceae.

<i>Favolus</i> Genus of fungi

Favolus, or honeycomb fungus, is a genus of fungi in the family Polyporaceae. The fruit bodies of Favolus species are fleshy with radially arranged pores on the underside of the cap that are angular and deeply pitted, somewhat resembling a honeycomb.

<i>Boletellus ananas</i> Species of fungus

Boletellus ananas, commonly known as the pineapple bolete, is a mushroom in the family Boletaceae, and the type species of the genus Boletellus. It is distributed in southeastern North America, northeastern South America, Asia, and New Zealand, where it grows scattered or in groups on the ground, often at the base of oak and pine trees. The fruit body is characterized by the reddish-pink scales on the cap that are often found hanging from the edge. The pore surface on the underside of the cap is made of irregular or angular pores up to 2 mm wide that bruise a blue color. It is yellow when young but ages to a deep olive-brown color. Microscopically, B. ananas is distinguished by large spores with cross striae on the ridges and spirally encrusted hyphae in the marginal appendiculae and flesh of the stem. Previously known as Boletus ananas and Boletus coccinea, the species was given its current name by William Alphonso Murrill in 1909. Two varieties of Boletellus ananas have been described. Like many other boletes, this species is considered edible, but it is not recommended for consumption.

<i>Collybia tuberosa</i> Species of fungus

Collybia tuberosa, commonly known as the lentil shanklet or the appleseed coincap, is an inedible species of fungus in the family Tricholomataceae, and the type species of the genus Collybia. Like the two other members of its genus, it lives on the decomposing remains of other fleshy mushrooms. The fungus produces small whitish fruit bodies with caps up to 1 cm (0.4 in) wide held by thin stems up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long. On the underside of the cap are closely spaced white gills that are broadly attached to the stem. At the base of the stem, embedded in the substrate is a small reddish-brown sclerotium that somewhat resembles an apple seed. The appearance of the sclerotium distinguishes it from the other two species of Collybia, which are otherwise very similar in overall appearance. C. tuberosa is found in Europe, North America, and Japan, growing in dense clusters on species of Lactarius and Russula, boletes, hydnums, and polypores.

<i>Phellinus ellipsoideus</i> Species of fungus in the family Hymenochaetaceae found in China

Phellinus ellipsoideus is a species of polypore fungus in the family Hymenochaetaceae, a specimen of which produced the largest fungal fruit body ever recorded. Found in China, the fruit bodies produced by the species are brown, woody basidiocarps that grow on dead wood, where the fungus feeds as a saprotroph. The basidiocarps are perennial, allowing them to grow very large under favourable circumstances. They are resupinate, measuring 30 centimetres (12 in) or more in length, though typically extending less than a centimetre from the surface of the wood. P. ellipsoideus produces distinct ellipsoidal spores, after which it is named, and unusual setae. These two features allow it to be readily differentiated microscopically from other, similar species. Chemical compounds isolated from the species include several steroidal compounds. These may have pharmacological applications, but further research is needed.

<i>Lenzites warnieri</i> Species of fungus

Lenzites warnieri is a species of fungus in the family Polyporaceae found in parts of Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. The species is a white rot pathogen on living wood. Its corky fruiting bodies in the shape of semicircular plates form on the trunks of several types of deciduous trees growing near water bodies in regions of moist sub-Mediterranean climate. The fruiting body, which has a lamellar fruit layer, produces spores only once.

<i>Xylobolus frustulatus</i> Species of fungus

Xylobolus frustulatus, commonly known as the ceramic fungus or ceramic parchment, is an inedible species of crust fungus in the Stereaceae family. The fruit body forms small, hard, flat crust-like aggregations that resemble broken pieces of ceramic tile. These pieces are initially whitish before turning yellow-brown to gray-brown in age. The spore-bearing cells cover the upper surfaces of the fruit body. A saprobic species, it grows on well-decayed oak wood in Asia, northern Europe, and North America.

<i>Picipes badius</i> Species of fungus

Picipes badius, commonly known as the black-footed polypore or black-leg, is a species of fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It causes a white rot of hardwoods and conifers. The species is found in temperate areas of Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. It has a dark brown or reddish-brown cap that reaches a diameter of 25 cm (9.8 in), and a stipe that is often completely black or brown at the top and black at the base.

<i>Hapalopilus rutilans</i> Species of fungus

Hapalopilus rutilans is a species of polypore fungus in the family Polyporaceae. Officially described in 1821, it was transferred to its current genus Hapalopilus six decades later. It is commonly known as the tender nesting polypore, purple dye polypore, or the cinnamon bracket. This widely distributed species is found on five continents. It grows on the fallen or standing dead wood of deciduous trees, in which it fruits singly, in groups, fused, or in overlapping clusters. Fruit bodies are in the form of kidney-shaped to semicircular, cinnamon-orange-brown brackets. The underside of the fruit body features a yellowish to brownish pore surface with tiny angular pores, from which spores are released.

<i>Pycnoporellus alboluteus</i> Species of fungus

Pycnoporellus alboluteus, commonly known as the orange sponge polypore, is a species of polypore fungus in the family Fomitopsidaceae. Distributed throughout the boreal conifer zone, the fungus is found in mountainous regions of western North America, and in Europe. It causes a brown cubical rot of conifer wood, especially spruce, but also fir and poplar. The soft, spongy orange fruit bodies grow spread out on the surface of fallen logs. Mature specimens have tooth-like or jagged pore edges. A snowbank mushroom, P. alboluteus can often be found growing on logs or stumps protruding through melting snow. Although the edibility of the fungus and its usage for human culinary purposes are unknown, several species of beetles use the fungus as a food source.

<i>Nigroporus vinosus</i> Species of fungus

Nigroporus vinosus is a species of poroid fungus in the family Steccherinaceae, and the type species of the genus Nigroporus. Its fruit bodies have brownish caps with tinges of purple or red. The cap underside has a pore surface the same colour as the cap, and minute pores. Nigroporus vinosus has a pantropical distribution. It has been recorded from Africa, North America, Central America, South America, Asia, and Oceania. It is a wood-decay fungus that causes a white rot.

References

  1. 1 2 Roody, William C. (2003). Mushrooms of West Virginia and the Central Appalachians. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. p. 370. ISBN   978-0-8131-9039-6. Google Books
  2. Bulliard, J.B.F. (1789). Herbier de la France (in French). Vol. 9. pp. 385–432.
  3. Murrill, W.A. (1903). "A historical review of the genera of the Polyporaceae". Journal of Mycology. 9 (2): 87–102. doi:10.2307/3752511. JSTOR   3752511.
  4. "GSD Species Synonymy: Cerrena unicolor (Bull.) Murrill". Species Fungorum. Kew Mycology. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  5. 1 2 3 "Les champignons du Québec". www.mycoquebec.org. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  6. 1 2 "Cerrena unicolor (MushroomExpert.Com)" . Retrieved 2009-01-30.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Polypores and Similar Fungi of Eastern and Central North America. University of Texas Press. 2021. ISBN   978-1-4773-2273-4.
  8. "E-Flora BC Atlas Page". linnet.geog.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  9. Blanchette, Robert; Biggs, Alan (2013). Defense Mechanisms of Woody Plants Against Fungi. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 47. ISBN   978-3-662-01642-8.
  10. Labbé, Robert (March 2023). "Cerrena unicolor". MycoQuebec. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  11. "Cerrena unicolor (MushroomExpert.Com)". www.mushroomexpert.com. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  12. Kuo, Michael; Methven, Andy (2010). 100 Cool Mushrooms. University of Michigan Regional. p. 43. ISBN   978-0472034178.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  13. 1 2 3 PAŽOUTOVÁ, Sylvie; ŠRŮTKA, Petr (2007). "Symbiotic relationship between Cerrena unicolor and the horntail Tremex fuscicornis recorded in the Czech Republic" (PDF). Czech Mycology.
  14. Zhishu, Bi; Guoyang, Zheng; Li, Taihui (1993). The Macrofungus Flora of China's Guangdong Province. Chinese University Press. p. 209. ISBN   978-962-201-556-2.
  15. Phillips, Roger (2010). Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books. p. 315. ISBN   978-1-55407-651-2.
  16. Leonowicz A, Gianfreda L, Rogalski J, Jaszek M, Luterek J, Wojtaś-Wasilewska M, Malarczyk E, Dawidowicz A, Fink-Boots M, Ginalska G, Staszczak M, Cho N-S. (1997). "Appearance of laccase in wood-rotting fungi and its inducibility." Journal of Korean Wood Science and Technology25: 29–36.
  17. Rogalski J, Dawidowicz A, Jóźwik E, Leonowicz A. (1999). Immobilization of laccase from Cerrena unicolor on controlled porosity glass. Journal of Molecular Catalysis (B: Enzymatic)6: 29–39.
  18. Janusz, Grzegorz; Rogalski, Jerzy; Szczodrak, Janusz (2007). "Increased production of laccase by Cerrena unicolor in submerged liquid cultures". World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology. 23 (10): 1459–1464. doi:10.1007/s11274-007-9390-y. S2CID   84965592.