Fungi
The
Kingdom Fungi.
a.
parasites - obtaining nutrients
from a living host and ultimately harming that host. An example of
another parasite is mistletoe, parasitizing mesquite trees or catclaws.
b.
mutualistic symbionts - obtaining their nutrients from a living host while
providing some benefit to that host. An example \would be lichens:
an algal-fungal partnership. The fungi that lie in association with algae, obtain sugars and other compounds from the
photosynthetic forms and, in return, provide water and minerals to the algae.
c.
saprobes - obtaining nutrients from nonliving organic material
or the remains and by-products of organisms. The mycelium surrounding a dead
fly on a windowpane or the fungi that cause rot in wood are examples of this
saprophytic mode of nutrition.
Body plan
1.
The absorptive lifestyle of fungi is intimately associated with 2 important
characteristics: production of spores
and hypha (mycelial growth).
2. A
spore is a tiny, usually haploid, cell that disperses the fungus to new
habitats, usually by floating thru the air. The production of many tiny spores
increases the chance that at least a few will fall onto a suitable food source,
germinate, and start absorbing food, and then growing into a thread-like hypha.
a. the hyphae, which develops right after spore germination, puts
out powerful enzymes needed to digest food for the fungus.
b. at the same time,
mycotoxins, fungal by-products poisonous to animals,
or antibiotics, metabolites that inhibit growth of microbes, may also permeate
the substrate.
c. the purpose of
these products is apparently to
discourage potential competitors from getting more than their share of
available food.
3. Hypha
– thread-like structure of very fine, colorless threads, that makes up the body
of a fungus. They are usually hidden from view – deep within the soil, assorted
food sources, rotting matter, wood, decaying animals – and remains
undetected until it develops one or more fruiting bodies containing
reproductive spores. The fruiting body is usually the only indication that a
fungus is present. Hyphae grow until resembling a
tangled mass of threads. The body of a fungus, made up of many hyphae, is called a mycelium.
4. The mycelium is
well-suited to absorbing food. It has a high surface-volume ration permitting
the surface exposed to the external food source to absorb enough food to
nourish the enclosed body of cytoplasm.
Parasitic fungi absorb nutrients from the body fluids of its host,
and parasites of plants may produce specialized hyphae
called haustoria that penetrate a plant’s cell
wall and lie against the plasma membrane, where they can both absorb food.
Mushroom body plan
1.
cap - apical surface; on edible fungi usu. rounded and
smooth. Poisonous pp. May have warts (patches of fungal tissue that can’t be
removed without tearing the cap surface).
2.
gills - flat-sided, blade-like radial structures on the
underside of the cap, covered with microscopic basidia,
which holds the mushroom’s spores. Gills are important in identifying
mushrooms: density of gills, color of gills, whether they bruise of injure
easily, etc.
3.
stalk - typically a cylindrical structure that lifts the
cap above the soil surface, like a stem or shoot in seed-bearing plant.
4.
veil - a layer of fungal tissue that covers all or part of
some immature mushrooms.
Divisions of the Kingdom
Fungi
1.
Fungi are divided into true
fungi and slime molds.
2.
The kingdom consists of
7 divisions, 5 divisions in true fungi, 2 divisions in slime molds.
3.
I’d like to confine my
talk to 2 divisions: Ascomycota (ca. 30,000 spp.) and Basidiomycota
(ca. 25,000 spp.)
Ascomycota (Ascomycetes or sac fungi) asci = sac
1.
Largest class of fungi
2.
Included within the
30,000 or so spp. are the unicellular yeasts, as well
as many multicellular forms.
3.
In some species, the hyphae have been organized into definite, often fleshy
bodies; in others, hyphae form cottony growths of
indefinite extent.
4.
They reproduce asexually
by budding conidiospores, and by fragmentation.
a.
the characteristic reproductive structures are sacs, or asci, formed at the ends of specialized hyphae.
5.
They may be parasites or
saprophytes.
6.
Importance to humans
a.
cause many familiar diseases of economic plants: peach leaf
curl, Dutch elm disease, chestnut blight. Produces the largest number of plant
diseases.
b.
industrial uses -
manufacture of alcoholic beverages, cheese, the “raising” of bread dough,
c.
food spoilage
d.
human food: truffles and
morels
e.
decay of dead organisms
and their wastes
f.
commercial production of
organic chemicals
g.
production of antibiotics.
7.
Common
representatives
a.
Yeasts - one-celled, non-filamentous. Reproduces chiefly by
budding, less frequently by ascospores. Important in
brewing and baking. Secretes a number of enzymes which convert glucose to
alcohol and CO2.
b.
Cup fungi - hyphae organized into
fleshy, cup-shaped ascocarps, inside of which the asci are formed. Chiefly saprophytes in rich soil, decaying
wood, etc.
c.
Powdery mildews - parasites, chiefly on leaves of green plants (euonymous, roses, lilac). Forms whitish patches of hyphae on leaves.
d.
Blue and green molds - saprophytes on old leather, jellies, spoiling fruit, potatoes, etc. Hyphae
form indefinite growths, producing conidiospores and ascospores in large numbers. Penicillium
is a common blue mold, Aspergillus
produces blue or black spores. Some Penicillia are
important in cheese manufacture and production of penicillin.
Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes): mushrooms, bracket fungi, smuts.
1.
The most familiar basidiomycetes are the mushrooms.
a.
In these fungi, a
well-fed mycelium forms an underground mass of hyphae
that differentiates into a bulbous base, a stalk, and a knob-like cap.
b.
Some mornings after a rain we awake to find
that the hyphae composing that stalk have swelled
with moisture and elongated, carrying the cap above ground.
c.
The cap opens like an
umbrella after the rain has ceased, and numerous basidia
along the edges of the gills or pores beneath the cap prepare to lose their
spores. (the gills or pores on the underside of a
mushroom increase the surface area where spores can be formed and discharged).
2.
Bracket fungi, bird’s
nest fungi, coral fungi are also fruiting bodies of basidiomycetes;
they are often found on rotting wood.
Importance to humans
1.
Edible species - some mushrooms and puffballs
2.
Plant diseases - rusts, smuts
3.
Facilitates the rotting of wood
4.
Causes decay of dead
organisms and the wastes of other organisms.
Common representatives
1.
Smut fungi - parasites on cereal grains, especially damaging to
oats, corn, and wheat. (Formaldehyde treatment of seeds kills smut spores).
Black-colored spores.
2.
Rust fungi - causes serious diseases on oats, wheat, and rye.
Called rust because of reddish spores formed on the surface of diseased
tissues.
3.
Gill fungi - mushrooms. Mycelium grows saprophytically
undeground or in decaying wood, and peridically forms fleshy sporophores
(mushrooms) of characteristic size and shape. A mushroom consists of a stalk
and an umbrella-ahaped cap, on underside of which are
radiating gills, which bear basidia and numerous basidiospores
4.
Puffballs - spherical, pear-shaped. Basidiospores
borne internally. The covering ruptures or has a pore for escape of spores.
Most puffballs are edible when young. Mostly saprophytic.
Lichens
1.
Lichens are associations
of certain algae (blue-greens and greens) with fungi (chiefly sac fungi: ascomycetes) in a state of symbiosis (mutual benefit). An
obvious reproductive structure visible on many lichens is a cup-shaped ascocarp typical of certain ascomycetes.
2. The association of fungi
and algae are so complete that lichens are given scientific names as if they
were a single organism. There about 18,000 spp. of
lichen. (The algae in 90% of these species are comprised of only 3 genera).
3.The fungi obtain food from the photosynthetic algal
cells, and absorbs and retain water and minerals, some of which the algae use
in the process of photosynthesis.
a. the
physical mass of fungus protects algae from ultra violet radiation of the sun.
4. Algae comprises
about 5-10% of the lichen, fungi about 90%.
5. Lichens are common on rocks,
tree bark, fence posts, etc, and are able to colonize some of the most
inhospitable habitats on earth. They can survive in extremely cold areas (high
mountain tops, the arctic), and may be the only plant form surviving some of
these areas providing vitally important sources of food for some animals. In
arctic, caribou and reindeer feed on lichen (reindeer moss), the dominant
vegetation in some areas. Hot deserts, bare rock.
6. Three types of lichen:
a.
Foliose - flat, leafy or
thallus lichens.
b.
Crustose - thin, hard crusts, especially common on rocks.
c.
Fruticose (shrublike) - erect,
branched growths.
7.
Lichens have incredibly
slow growth rates: a few millimeters each year. Great longevity, some believed
to be 4,555 years old.
8.
Sensitive to air
pollution, especially sulfur dioxide: the disappearance of certain lichen
species may be a means of measuring the extent of air pollution within an area.
a.
Lichen absorb water and minerals from rainwater and directly from
the atmosphere over their entire surface.
b.
This makes them
extremely sensitive to atmospheric pollution.
c.
As a result,
there are few lichen in or near industrialized centers
and towns.
9.
Extracts from certain
lichen have been used medicinally as antibiotics.
10.
Many lichens are
brightly colored and Native peoples used them as sources of dyes. They contain alum
(potassium aluminum
sulfate), a mordant used since antiquity. (mordant = do not impart their color immediately, as
direct dyes do. Fibers must be treated with a chemical agent, a mordant. The
mordant fixes the dye to the fabric).
11.
Ancient Egyptians used
lichen as packing material for mummies.
Mycorrhizae: root-fungal partnership (literally: fungus root)
1.
Many fungi grow
associated with plant roots in a symbiosis called mycorrhiza.
In fact, there are estimates that 90% of all vascular plants posses
fungi in mutualistic associations with their roots.
2.
The plant furnishes the
fungus with sugars and amino acids (products of photosynthesis), while the
fungus aids in the absorption in minerals and water form the soil. Fungal hyphae are
highly branched and extends thru a relatively large volume of soil.
4.
Their ecological role
and importance in forestry and agriculture have become clearer with revegetation efforts. Some mycorrhizae
are necessary for transplants of trees.
a.
When pine trees were introduced into new areas, as in Puerto Rico and
5. Even when a species may grow without mycorrhizae, the same species with mycorrhizae
may be more tolerant of pollution, need less fertilizer, or grow in marginal
soils.
a.
Acid rain, caused
by industrial pollution, promotes 2 changes in the soil unfavorable to plants:
leaching (washing away) of required nutrients, making them unavailable to
plants; and increased solubility of toxic materials such as zinc, copper,
aluminum, and manganese. The appropriate mycorrhizal
fungus can absorb nutrients from depleted soil water and make them available to
the plant. It is also known that mycorrhiza can
protect a plant from toxic substances in the soil, such as slagheaps of mines.
6. (From Oliver Sacks',
Oaxaca Journal): Most of the world's plants - more than 90% of the known
species - are connected by a vast subterranean network of fungal filaments, in
a symbiotic association that goes back to the very origin of land plants, 400
million years ago. these fungal filaments are
essential for the plants' well-being, acting as living conduits for the
transmission of water and essential minerals (and perhaps organic compounds as
well) not only between the plants and fungi but from plant to plant. Without
this fragile gossamer-like net of fungal filaments the towering redwoods, oaks,
pines, and eucalyptus of our forests would collapse during hard times. And so
too would much of agriculture, for thee fungal filaments often provide links
between very different species - between legumes and cereals, for instance, or
between alders and pine. thus nitrogen-rich legumes
and alders do not merely enrich the soil as they die and decompose, but can
directly donate, thru the fungal network, a good portion of their nitrogen to
nearby plants. United by these multifarious underground channels (and also by
the chemicals they secrete in the air to signal sexual readiness or news of
predator attack, etc.) plants are not as solitary as one might imagine, but
form complex interactive, mutually supportive communities.
Role of fungi in the
environment
1.
Decomposers (Nature’s recyclers: the degradation of organic
material and the recycling of its nutrients).As decomposers, the fungi are
vitally important members to the plant and animal kingdoms. When a dead leaf
drifts to the forest floor or an animal dies of disease, fungal and bacterial
spores floating in the air have already settled on it. These spores quickly
germinate and begin to break down the dead organism, releasing small organic
molecules that can be used as food, as well as minerals that may be absorbed by
the decomposer or by nearby plants.
2.
Fungi, together with
bacteria, are responsible for most of the recycling which returns dead material
to the soil in a form in which it can be reused. Without fungi, these recycling
activities would be seriously reduced. We would effectively be lost under
piles, many meters thick, of dead plant and animal remains.
3.
The fungi which make our
bread and fruit go moldy are only recycling organic matter, even tho in this case we would probably prefer it didn’t happen.
Fungal damage can be responsible for large losses of stored food, particularly
food which contains any moisture. Dry grains can usually be stored
successfully, but the minute they become damp, molds are likely to render them
inedible.
4.
Bioremediation of toxic
materials – use of microorganisms to reclaim soil and water that have become
contaminated with hazardous materials.
a.
Inexpensive
compared with conventional physical or chemical methods of decontamination.
b.
Typically
performed on-site, requiring only the addition of nutrients in the soil to
stimulate the growth of microorganisms in the immediate environment.
c.
Some of the
bracket fungi (they can degrade lignin and cellulose) have been proposed as
bio-remediators in the pulp and paper industry to
reduce the use of hazardous chemicals.
5.
Many fungi tolerate
extreme acidity: acid foods pickles and jam (fruit is acid) are safe from
attack by bacteria but not by fungi. Their ability to absorb water from damp
air permits fungi (unlike bacteria) to grow in environments where there is no
liquid water. Bacteria survive anaerobic conditions better than fungi: altho yeasts can survive anaerobic conditions using
fermentation, no fungus can grow and reproduce in the absence of oxygen.
Fungi for food
1.
Fungi are eaten directly
as a type of vegetable or used as a fermentative agent to convert foods into
alternative forms.
2.
Human being
have long known that most fermented foods keep better than food from
which they are made. This was a compelling motive for producing beer, wine,
cheeses, sauerkraut, pickles, yoghurt, and bread before refrigerators were
invented. Fermented foods are also often more nutritious, flavorful, less apt
to spoil, and digestible than their raw counterparts. (protein
values are often enhanced in fermented foods thru the enzymatic release of
amino acids, and many of the microbial agents synthesize vitamins, further
improving nutritional quality).
3.
In east Asian countries,
soybeans mixed with cereals have been fermented by various bacteria and fungi
to yield an impressive array of flavoring agents and protein sources such as
tofu, soy sauce, miso, tempeh
a.
good soy sauce (shoyu) is made
by fermenting boiled soybeans and wheat with the ascomycete
Aspergillus oryzae
for about a year. Chinese invented this thousands of
years ago; it added flavor and vital amino acids, produced by fungus and
bacteria, to a low-protein diet of rice. (Most soy sauce is made by hydrolyzing
soybeans with hydrochloric acid).
4.
Edible mushrooms
a.
The most commonly eaten
mushrooms are the basidiomycetes. The basidiocarp (fruiting body) is the part that is eaten. The
2 popular exceptions are the morels and truffles, fruiting bodies of ascomycetes.
b.
Agaricus bisporus (button or field mushroom) is the mushroom most often
purchased in grocery stores in
c.
Shiitake is cultivated on oak logs or synthetic logs created from
sawdust and other organic materials, and placed in the forest. In addition to
eating shiitakes, the Japanese also use it medicinally: it is prescribed in
cancer therapy for its anti-tumor action as well as counteracting undesirable
effects of conventional chemotherapy. Shiitake tea, made from soaking the dried
mushrooms in boiling water, is claimed to boost the immune system, lower blood
cholesterol, and promote weight loss.
d.
Nutritionally, fresh
mushrooms have a high water content (85-92% of fresh
wt.). Complete source of protein, with appreciable amts of Vit
C, D, and some Bs. Naturally low in calories, high in fiber.
e.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast fungus) used in fermentation process in
production of beer, wine, spirits, and bread.
f.
Aspergillus
g.
Blue mould, Penicillium, is used in the ripening process to
prepare specialty cheeses such as blue cheese, Roquefort, Gorgonzola,
Camembert, and Brie.
Poisonous mushrooms
1.
There is no simple or
universal way to distinguish an edible from a poisonous mushroom without
precisely identifying the species.
2.
Latin saying “If you awaken in the morning after an
evening meal of wild mushrooms, you know they were good ones”
3.
Mushrooms of the genus Amanita
should be avoided. They account for most of the fatal accidents of mushroom
poisoning.
4.
Before picking any of
the gilled mushrooms to eat, examine the specimen to rule out the presence of a
saclike cup, or volva, around the base of the
stalk.
5.
Beware also of an
annulus or ring on the stalk.
Types
of mushroom poisoning:
1. Gastrointestinal – nausea, vomiting, diarrhea; symptoms
terminate rapidly and normal health returns in one or two days.
2. Cerebral – exhilaration, staggering gait, weird disturbance
of vision; normalcy returns soon.
3. Blood-dissolving - abdominal distress with ensuing jaundice;
blood transfusion needed. About 200 recorded deaths.
4. Nerve-affecting – early gastrointestinal symptoms, followed by
hallucinations; lethal cases rare because mushrooms must be eaten.
5. Choleriform – gastrointestinal reactions rapidly develop accompanied by violent
pains; rapid loss of strength with cardiac muscle damage and coma before death;
death rate 60% or more depending on amount eaten. E.g. Amanita.
Note: in some members of Amanita, both volva
and annulus are prominent structures that aid in identification, but either one
or both of these structures may weather away. Amanita virosa
(the destroying angel) and A. phalloides
(the death cap) are the most notorious killers of the Amanita group.
Chemical defenses of fungi
Fungal toxins fall into two
groupings: mycotoxins (formed by the hyphae of common molds growing under a variety of
conditions) and mushroom toxins (formed in the fleshy fruiting bodies of
some fungi).
Mycotoxins
1.
Mycotoxins are commonly produced by fungi growing in
contaminated foods.
2.
These toxins have
profound direct chronic and acute effects on humans and livestock when
contaminated foods are eaten. In addition to direct toxic effects, mycotoxins are among the most potent known carcinogens.
3.
The fungal contaminant,
Aspergillus flavus,
has given rise to the toxin aflatoxin, a toxic
and carcinogenic toxin, that is found contaminating peanut butter and grain
products.
4.
The ascomycete
Claviceps purpurea
infects the flowers of rye and other cereals and produces a structure called an
ergot (dark sclerotia or hardened mycelial masses: looks like the spur on a rooster’s leg)
where a seed would normally be found in the head of the grain.
5.
Because of the way the sclerotia are lodged in the seed head, it is easy for them
to get mixed in with good grain during the harvest. If not culled in the field
or in storage, the sclerotia would be ground into
flour and eventually find their way into foods eaten by people and livestock.
a.
Humans may be poisoned
by ergots when they eat bread made from infected rye, and ergotism,
also known as St. Anthony’s Fire, caused the
death of thousands in medieval
1.
LSD was first
synthesized by the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann in 1938. LSD is a very potent
psychoactive drug.
2.
It affects the midbrain
activity by interfering with the action of the neurotransmitter serotonin.
In small amounts LSD mimics the action of the neurotransmitter, but in larger
amounts it is antagonistic to the action of serotonin.
3.
The hallucinations and
changes in perception are due to the disruptions in the normal pathways of
sensory stimulation.
4.
LSD also produces
increased blood pressure, respiration, and perspiration, often accompanied by
heart palpitations.
b.
Ergotism was known as “sacred fire” because of the
burning sensation common in the extremities of afflicted individuals. Later, it
was associated with St. Anthony, a 4th century Christian monk
who was thought to have power over fire.
c.
Ergot was also used
medically: for centuries midwives
employed ergot to induce abortions and aid in childbirth because it caused
uterine contractions and hastened birth.
d.
Today the purified
alkaloid ergometrine is used medicinally to
reduce postpartum bleeding.
e.
The alkaloid ergotamine
is an effective treatment for migraine. By constricting the diameter of the
cranial arteries, the pulsating pressure and resulting headaches are relieved.
f.
Fields of rye are
deliberately inoculated with spores of Claviceps
purpurea to produce the ergot needed for the
pharmaceutical industry.
Psychoactive properties
1.
Other species of the
genus Amanita are known for their psychoactive properties.
a.
Amanita muscaria (fly
agaric) has a long history of use as an intoxicant.
Its orange-red cap and white scales make it easily identifiable. The common
name arises because flies are attracted to the mushroom and then killed (or stunned)
from its insecticidal properties.
b.
It contains ibotenic acid. Many of its symptoms are similar to alcohol
intoxication, but may progress into epileptic-type seizures.
c.
This mushroom may have
been used in ancient
d.
Some tribal peoples in
6.
Psilocybe, or the sacred mushroom to the indigenous tribes of
a.
The major toxic
compounds in this mushroom are the alkaloids, psilocybin and psilocin
(in the body psilocybin is converted to psilocyn, the
biologically active element).
b.
Psilocyn is structurally similar to the neurotransmitter serotonin
and, like LSD, interferes with the action of this substance in the brain.
Hallucinations usually begin within 30-60 minutes of ingestion and last for
several hours.
The toxins produced by Claviceps, Amanita, Psilocybe, and the notorious
poisons of some of the other mushrooms, protect these fungi from predators and
parasites.
Fungi, like many of the
plants we’ve already discussed, produce a wide array of secondary compounds,
and thousands of these compounds from fungi have been studied. Included in this
group are alkaloids, as well as other compounds that may serve as antibiotics
or toxins.
Antibiotics
1.
These are compounds that
are toxic to microorganisms.
2.
In the natural
environment, these substances give the producing organisms an advantage over
competing microorganisms for available resources.
3.
Antibiotics have been
one of the recent mainstays of the pharmaceutical industry and one of the
primary weapons for fighting bacterial infections.
Penicillin
1.
Penicillin is a by-product of certain Penicillium spp. of fungi from the Ascomycota.
2.
The antibiotic works by
blocking cell wall synthesis in the bacterium, and results in the death of the
bacterial cell by lysis (disintegration or
dissolution).
3.
It is particularly
effective because, unlike other know therapeutic agents, penicillin suppresses
bacterial growth without being toxic to animals or humans.
4.
The discovery of Penicillium was
made by Alexander Fleming, a British physician, in 1928.
a.
He found that the mold
had contaminated some of his bacterial cultures, and killed the culture of Staphylococcus
aureus bacteria growing in a petri dish.
b.
Altho initially attracting little attention, the beginnings
of WWII led to the investigations of naturally occurring antibacterial
compounds, and Fleming’s work (of 11 years earlier) came under the attention of
2 scientists from the Oxford U.
c.
Penicillium was then analyzed and its bacteria-destroying properties were
demonstrated and confirmed in laboratory test tubes.
5.
The success of Penicillium notatum
led to further investigations for more high-yielding sources for the drug, now
known as penicillin.
a.
Penicillium chrysogenum was found on a contaminated cantaloupe, and the
isolated fungus was found to produce 200 times more penicillin than Fleming’s
isolate.
b.
Soon after the war, the
pharmaceutical industry developed chemically altered versions of the penicillin
molecule. These modified penicillins provided for
greater stability, broader antibacterial activity, and also oral administration
of the drug, which would then permit home use of antibiotics.
c.
Through further induce
mutations of P.
chrysogenum, the antibiotic now produces
10,000 times more penicillin than Fleming’s original isolate.
6.
Drawbacks to
penicillin
a.
Penicillin was over-prescribed
by both physicians and veterinarians, and the antibiotics were routinely
incorporated into animal feed for use in feedlots: this widespread use led to
the evolution of penicillin-resistant bacteria. (Some bacteria spp. can reproduce every 20 minutes, so the evolution of
new strains may be considerably faster than for other organisms).
b.
A small percentage of
the population is allergic to penicillin, often resulting in severe or
even fatal anaphylactic reactions. (anaphylaxis is a
rapid and dramatic allergic reaction that may result in death thru airway
obstruction or irreversible vascular collapse). Several hundred people die each
year from anaphylaxis due to penicillin allergy.
(Other spp
of Penicillium
are widespread indoor contaminants, some are found on moldy fruits and
vegetables, others are the source of the moldy smell from the basement, wt
carpets, or old shoes.
Some fungi which parasitize
caterpillars have also been traditionally used as medicines. The Chinese have
used a particular caterpillar fungus as a tonic for hundreds of years. Certain
chemical compounds isolated from the fungus may prove to be useful for treating
certain types of cancer.
The shelf-like, woody, reishi mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum) is the Taoist “elixir of life”.
It
is associated with longevity and spiritual energy.
It
is said to improve circulation, reduce cholesterol, lower blood pressure, boost
immune system, and has anti-tumor properties.
Cordyceps - the fungus attaches itself to an insect’s exoskeleton as it wanders
past. It then secretes a chemical that burns a hole in the insect’s armor.
Next, Cordyceps inserts itself into the insect body
and proceeds to devour all of the hosts nonvital organs, all the while preventing the insect from
dying of infection by secreting an antibiotic and a fungicide (as well as an
insecticide to deter other predators). Once the nonvital
organs are consumed, the fungus eats part of the insect’s brain, causing the
insect to ascend to the top of a tall tree in the forest. There, Cordyceps devours the rest of the bug’s brain. At that
point the fungus can release its spores a hundred feet above the forest floor.
Chagas’disease is a leading cause of death in some of the drier
regions of
Chinese Olympic
runners attribute their record-breaking performances in recent Olympics to a
special diet including Cordyceps. Ancient Chinese
have employed Cordyceps for everything from impotence
to backache; in the early 1700s, it was worth more than 4 x its weight in
silver. Recent clinical studies have confirmed its effectiveness in treating
loss of sexual drive among the elderly, making Cordyceps
a fungal version of Viagra.
The Swiss
pharmaceutical giant, Sandoz, has isolated a compound
in Cordyceps (NIM-811) that chemically resembles cyclosporin (the immuno-suppressant
drug) in terms of its molecular structure but does not suppress the immune
system. However, it exhibits anti-HIV activity. Like ATZ (azidothymidine),
it interferes with the virus’ ability to replicate. However, it disrupts the
virus’ reproduction at a different stage in the pathogen’s reproductive cycle
than does AZT. Used together, then, they may exhibit a synergistic level of
inhibition.
Inkcap mushroom - yields coprine which, when mixed with alcohol induces nausea. This
has been given to alcoholics to dissuade them from drinking. (Remember
Clockwork