Melanogaster (fungus)

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Melanogaster
Melanogaster tuberiformis 17757.jpg
Melanogaster tuberiformis
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Boletales
Family: Paxillaceae
Genus: Melanogaster
Corda
Type species
Melanogaster tuberiformis
Corda
Synonyms [1]
  • Argylium Wallr.
  • Uperhiza Bosc
  • Hyperrhiza Bosc
  • Bulliardia Jungh.
  • Bullardia Jungh.
Melanogaster cross section Melanogaster Cross Section.jpg
Melanogaster cross section

Melanogaster is a genus of fungus that resemble truffles, and are often mistaken for them. However, they do not have the characteristic aroma and value of truffles, although some have been used culinarily. None are known to be poisonous. [2] The genus contains 25 species that collectively have a widespread distribution. [3]

Contents

A new polyene pigment, melanocrocin, has been isolated either from fruit bodies or mycelial cultures of the subterranean fungus Melanogaster broomeianus . The structure of the pigment was determined by spectroscopic methods and chemical transformations. Melanocrocin is the N-acyl derivative of L-phenylalanine methyl ester with a polyolefinic carboxylic acid. [4]

Species

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Truffle</span> Fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus

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Melanogaster ("black-bellied") may refer to the following organisms:

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<i>Lactarius blennius</i> Species of fungus

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<i>Mycena haematopus</i> Fungus species in the family Mycenaceae widespread and common in Europe and North America

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<i>Mycena aurantiomarginata</i> Species of fungus in the family Mycenaceae common in Europe and North America

Mycena aurantiomarginata, commonly known as the golden-edge bonnet, is a species of agaric fungus in the family Mycenaceae. First formally described in 1803, it was given its current name in 1872. Widely distributed, it is common in Europe and North America, and has also been collected in North Africa, Central America, and Japan. The fungus is saprobic, and produces fruit bodies (mushrooms) that grow on the floor of coniferous forests. The mushrooms have a bell-shaped to conical cap up to 2 cm in diameter, set atop a slender stipe up to 6 cm long with yellow to orange hairs at the base. The fungus is named after its characteristic bright orange gill edges. A microscopic characteristic is the club-shaped cystidia that are covered with numerous spiky projections, resembling a mace. The edibility of the mushroom has not been determined. M. aurantiomarginata can be distinguished from similar Mycena species by differences in size, color, and substrate. A 2010 publication reported the discovery and characterization of a novel pigment named mycenaaurin A, isolated from the mushroom. The pigment is responsible for its color, and it has antibiotic activity that may function to prevent certain bacteria from growing on the mushroom.

<i>Lactarius fuliginosus</i> Species of fungus

Lactarius fuliginosus, commonly known as the sooty milkcap, is a species of fungus in the family Russulaceae. The medium-sized fruit bodies have velvety, grayish-brown caps and crowded gills. It is found in deciduous forests of Asia, Europe, and North America.

<i>Tuber oregonense</i> Species of fungus

Tuber oregonense, commonly known as the Oregon white truffle, is a species of edible truffle in the genus Tuber. Described as new to science in 2010, the North American species is found on the western coast of the United States, from northern California to southern British Columbia west of the Cascade Range. A mycorrhizal fungus, it grows in a symbiotic association with Douglas fir. It overlaps in distribution with the closely related T. gibbosum, but they have different growing seasons: T. oregonense typically appears from October through March, while T. gibbosum grows from January to June. The fruit bodies of the fungus are roughly spherical to irregular in shape, and resemble small potatoes up to 5 cm (2 in) in diameter. Inside the truffle is the gleba, which is initially white before it becomes a marbled tan color. The large, often thick-walled, and strongly ornamented spores are produced in large spherical asci. The truffle is highly prized for its taste and aroma. Some individuals have claimed success in cultivating the truffles in Christmas tree farms.

<i>Kalapuya brunnea</i> Species of fungus

Kalapuya brunnea is a species of truffle in the monotypic fungal genus Kalapuya. The truffle occurs only in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, in western Oregon and northern California. Known locally as the Oregon brown truffle, it was formerly thought to be an undescribed species of Leucangium until molecular analysis demonstrated that it was distinct from that genus. The truffle is reddish brown with a rough and warty outer skin, while the interior spore-producing gleba is initially whitish before developing greyish-brown mottling as it matures. Mature truffles have an odor resembling garlicky cheese, similar to mature Camembert. The species has been harvested for culinary purposes in Oregon.

<i>Calostoma cinnabarinum</i> Species of fungus

Calostoma cinnabarinum, commonly known as the stalked puffball-in-aspic,gelatinous stalked-puffball, or red slimy-stalked puffball, is a species of gasteroid fungus in the family Sclerodermataceae, and is the type species of the genus Calostoma. The fruit body has a distinctive color and overall appearance, featuring a layer of yellowish jelly surrounding a bright red, spherical head approximately 2 centimeters (0.8 in) in diameter atop a red or yellowish brown spongy stipe 1.5 to 4 cm tall. The innermost layer of the head is the gleba, containing clear or slightly yellowish elliptical spores, measuring 14–20 micrometers (µm) long by 6–9 µm across. The spore surface features a pattern of small pits, producing a net-like appearance. A widely distributed species, it grows naturally in eastern North America, Central America, northeastern South America, and East Asia. C. cinnabarinum grows on the ground in deciduous forests, where it forms mycorrhizal associations with oaks.

Boletocrocin is any one of a group of seven closely related organic compounds, individually named boletocrocin A through boletrocrocin G. These compounds are polyene dicarboxylic acids that include both lipophilic and polar amino acids. They were extracted from the brightly colored mushrooms Boletus laetissimus and B. rufoaureus. The boletocrocins' conjugated systems account for the intense color.

Thielavia subthermophila is a ubiquitous, filamentous fungus that is a member of the phylum Ascomycota and order Sordariales. Known to be found on plants of arid environments, it is an endophyte with thermophilic properties, and possesses dense, pigmented mycelium. Thielavia subthermophila has rarely been identified as a human pathogen, with a small number of clinical cases including ocular and brain infections. For treatment, antifungal drugs such as amphotericin B have been used topically or intravenously, depending upon the condition.

Pachyphloeus depressus is a species of ascomycete fungus that forms truffle-like fruitbodies. It is found in southwestern China, where it has been reported from Qiaojia County, Yunnan Province, and Huili County, Sichuan Province. These counties are both near the Jinsha River. Fruitbodies of the fungus are smooth and greenish-brown—distinctive features in the genus Pachyphloeus. They measure 0.9–2.1 cm (0.4–0.8 in) in diameter, and have a rubbery texture. When ripe, the odor of the flesh is similar to burned potatoes. Spores are spherical, measuring 15.7–20 µm with coarse rod-like spines up to 2.5 µm on the surface. The fungus has been called the "green female truffle" because of its superficial resemblance to the locally common species Tuber pseudohimalayense.

<i>BY1</i> Species of fungus

BY1 is a taxonomically unidentified basidiomycete fungus. ITS sequencing has placed it in the Russulales and is referred to as a stereaceous basidiomycete. Chemotaxonomically supporting its placement in this group, it produces fomannoxins and vibralactones. The fungus' mycelia were isolated from dead aspen in Minnesota, USA. It is presumed to decompose wood by white rot.

<i>Phialophora fastigiata</i> Species of fungus

Phialophora fastigiata is a mitosporic, saprophytic fungus commonly found in soil, and on wood, and wood-pulp. This species was initially placed in the genus Cadophora but was later transferred to the genus Phialophora based on morphological and growth characteristics. In culture, P. fastigiata produces olive-brown, velvety colonies. The fungus is recognizable microscopically due to the presence of distinctive, funnel-shaped cuffs (collarettes) encircling the tips of phialides that bear slimy conidia. The fungus is often implicated in soft-rot wood decay due to its ability to degrade lignin, cellulose and pectin. It has also been reported to cause blue staining of wood and wood pulp.

<i>Carbomyces emergens</i> Species of fungus

Carbomyces emergens is a desert truffle in the genus Carbomyces, a small genus common to the Chihuahuan desert in the southwestern United States and Mexico. C. emergens is regarded as the most common and widely distributed species in Carbomyces, also serving as the genus' type species. C. emergens belongs to the Carbomycetaceae family, in the order Pezizales, class Pezizomycetes, division Ascomycota.

References

  1. Melanogaster in MycoBank.
  2. "Frequently Asked Truffle Questions". North American Truffling Society. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  3. Kirk PM, Cannon PF, Minter DW, Stalpers JA (2008). Dictionary of the Fungi (10th ed.). Wallingford: CABI. p.  414. ISBN   978-0-85199-826-8.
  4. Aulinger K, Besl H, Spiteller P, Spiteller M, Steglich W (2001). "Melanocrocin, a polyene pigment from Melanogaster broomeianus (Basidiomycetes)". Z. Naturforsch. C. 56 (7–8): 495–98. doi: 10.1515/znc-2001-7-803 . PMID   11531079. S2CID   41177931.